


Bullets For My Valentine II - Slainte

by jenunjen96816



Series: Bullets For My Valentine - The Series [2]
Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-15
Updated: 2017-02-15
Packaged: 2018-09-24 04:16:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 22
Words: 36,533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9700631
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jenunjen96816/pseuds/jenunjen96816
Summary: Two major crime organizations are headed for all-out war. A dangerous terrorist harbors a deadly vendetta. Can Ashlyn Harris, a vigilante crime fighter, and Ali Krieger, a rising law enforcement agent stop them before all hell breaks loose?Ashlyn and Ali are back to take on more bad guys with Hope, Pinoe and the rest of the crew.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Reposting this story since I lost it along with my other stories when my account mysteriously disappeared (gremlins maybe...)

The sniper laid in the darkness at the top of a hill. She peered through the scope of her rifle and surveyed the farmhouse for the hundredth time in the last two hours. A lone sentry paced in front of the house. Two men sat at a table in the living room, playing cards. Four more men had pulled up in a car twenty minutes ago and had disappeared into the house. The sniper was just waiting for the target to arrive, and then the operation would be a go.

“Weather report”, came the voice in the sniper’s earpiece. It was Captain McAllister, the sniper’s commanding officer. McAllister and the rest of the sniper’s highly trained commando unit were waiting in the woods nearby. The sniper cupped the comm mic and spoke.

“Seven clouds, but no sun”, Sergeant Ashlyn Harris reported. The “sun” was the code name for their target, a maverick Irish zealot named Jimmy Burke. On paper he had served as an obscure unit commander in the IRA. In reality he was a bloodthirsty maniac who believed in wiping out anyone who wasn’t dedicated to “The Cause”. Burke hated the English. He hated the Americans. He even hated some of his fellow Irishmen. He hated anyone not dedicated to his mission, which was total separation of Ireland from England. Since becoming more open to negotiations, the IRA had formally severed ties with Burke, and Burke had denounced the IRA as being “too bloody weak”. Unfortunately, since their split, IRA leadership hadn’t been able to reign Burke in, and his penchant for wreaking havoc had put a dent in the peace talks that had just gotten underway. Burke’s last attack had been a bombing five weeks ago in Dublin, which had targeted the motorcade of the U.S. Ambassador to Ireland. The ambassador had made it out alive but was in a coma. Four of his security detail had been killed. The U.S Secretary of State had called the head of the Joint Special Operations Command, or JSOC for short. The head of JSOC had called General Flood, the man in command of the Army Special Forces. His orders to Flood had been simple: find Burke and take him out quickly and quietly. Flood had tapped Unit Six, the Army Special Forces team assigned to covert operations in northern Europe, which was Ashlyn’s unit, for the mission. The highly-trained eight-person team had spent the last four and a half weeks prepping for the mission and had finally tracked Burke to a remote farmhouse north of Belfast. Knowing that the paranoid Burke would have the road to the farmhouse watched, the unit had set up camp thirty miles away and had spent the last two days rucking through the woods so as to arrive at the farmhouse on foot, under the cover of darkness. They had arrived two hours ago and were waiting a quarter mile away. McAllister had sent Ashlyn, the unit’s sharpshooter and surveillance specialist, ahead to scout and to inform the team when Burke had arrived.

“Let me know when you see the sun. If possible, we’d like to go to the beach”, McAllister said. If Ashlyn reported seeing the sun, and McAllister said, “We’re going to the beach”, that meant the operation was a go.

“Copy that”, Ashlyn said. “Ov-“ She was about to say “Over and out”, when she spotted movement on the road in front of her. “Hold on, we have a change in the weather.” Ashlyn peered into her scope. Two minivans bounced down the lone dirt road and stopped at the farmhouse. Eight more men exited the vehicles. A few seconds later, Jimmy Burke popped his head out of the second van. He took a quick look around and then went inside the house with his men.

“I see the sun”, Ashlyn said into the mic.

“Are you sure?”

“Yep. It’s sunny now”, Ashlyn confirmed. “But, more clouds also rolled in. I count fifteen clouds, plus the sun.”

There was silence in her earpiece for a moment, and then the command came. “Alright, we’re going to the beach. I repeat – we are going to the beach. Wait sixty and then clear out any clouds in the front. We’ll meet you at the house. Over and out.”

Ashlyn took her eye off the scope of her rifle. She closed her eyes, breathed deep five times, and felt herself focus. She took her finger off the trigger and wiggled her fingers and toes. Sharp and refocused, she opened her eyes and peered back into the scope. A second sentry was now out front, talking with the first. She started counting down. A third sentry came around from the back. She continued to count down and then steadied her shot, exhaled, and pulled the trigger.

CRACK

The rifle coughed in the quiet countryside evening. Ashlyn saw the first sentry go down through her scope. She trained her scope on the second sentry. He was looking down at his fallen comrade when Ashlyn pulled the trigger. He went down as fast as the first. The third sentry, realizing what was happening, started for the front door. Ashlyn took him out as well, but before she did, he managed to get out a cry for help. Ashlyn peered through her scope and could see the inside of the farmhouse erupt into action as Burke and his men readied themselves.

“Three clouds down, but the others are expecting rain”, Ashlyn said.

“Copy that”, came McAllister’s voice. “We’ll be at the house in thirty seconds with fireworks. Join us on the sand.”

“Roger that”, Ashlyn said. She picked herself up and slinked down the hill. She moved across the grass and was almost to the house when she heard the sound, the sound that glass makes when it breaks due to an object being thrown through it. Instinctively she threw herself to the ground.

BOOM

The grenade went off. Screams erupted from inside the house, and at the same time, Ashlyn’s unit emerged from the darkness. They entered the house in raid formation and gunfire erupted. Ashlyn sprung up, slung her sniper rifle around her back, and readied her MP5. She went around the right side of the house and ran into two of Burke’s men. She squeezed off two shots, and both men went down. Ashlyn entered the house from a side door, MP5 raised. She quickly surveyed the entryway and was about to move into the next room when she sensed movement to the right. Ashlyn saw a man coming at her, gun in hand, arms raised to shoot. She lowered her level under his outstretched arm, pivoted, and swept the floor with a powerful spin kick that took the man’s legs out from under him. The man hit the floor hard, and as he did, Ashlyn delivered a vicious elbow to his skull. The man went still.

“Harris!” McAllister called from ten feet away through the melee as he dispatched another member of Burke’s crew. “Out back!” Ashlyn looked out the back window. A man was running for the woods.

Ashlyn raised her MP5 but stopped. The man was out of range. She ran for the back door, readied her sniper rifle and peered through the scope. The man was running quickly. Ashlyn exhaled and pulled the trigger. The man fell.

“Got him”, Ashlyn shouted. She turned around to go back into the house, and as she did, she heard a popping sound. She looked up and saw Jimmy Burke six feet away, having materialized out of nowhere, the barrel of his gun smoking. It was then that she felt the wetness on the left side of her rib cage. She looked down and saw the wound, a big black circle, expanding, engulfing the entire left side of her torso. Blood started gushing everywhere. Ashlyn stumbled back, covering her wound with one hand and raising her gun in her other. She fired at Burke, but the bullets did nothing, and Burke laughed maniacally. Ashlyn stumbled further and fell on her back. McAllister called out her name, but he sounded far away. Ashlyn was starting to slip into unconsciousness, and the last thing she remembered was Burke yelling “Slainte!” and lunging towards her with a wicked-looking knife-

 

Ashlyn bolted up in bed. She was home, safe, in the condo on the northwest side of Chicago. It was dark. She blinked a few times and then rubbed her eyes. She had been dreaming. Dreaming and remembering. One of those dreams that incorporates real life events from one’s past. These dreams will happen, her counselor had told her. They will become less frequent with time, and possibly go away altogether. It had been five years since the Burke mission, and nowadays that dream only came once in a while.

Jimmy Burke had been killed, but not before he had shot Ashlyn through the lower part of her left ribcage. After the melee at the farmhouse, McAllister had scooped up Ashlyn, and they had taken one of the vans and had vanished along with the rest of their unit into the night. Ashlyn woke up a day later in England, at a safe house just outside of Liverpool. She was transferred to a military hospital in London, where she stayed for a week, and then she was shipped stateside. Ashlyn recovered to the point where she was able to operate at a high level, but there was some permanent damage to a few of her internal systems. After she recovered she was awarded the Purple Heart. McAllister had recommended her for a position in Delta Force, the Army’s top counter-terrorist unit, but she was ready to move on to life outside of the army, so she resigned a few months later and was given an honorable discharge. She had other plans for her future – a personal mission to complete.

Ashlyn looked over at the clock on the bedside table. It was 10:30pm. She reached over in the darkness to the right side of the bed with her hand and felt it vacant. Her wife wasn’t home from work yet. She looked over at the space where her wife sleeps and smiled, a combination of longing and understanding. She wished her wife was home but understood her long hours. Ali worked for the Joint Organized Crime Taskforce, or JOCT for short. It was a relatively new government agency that was tasked with coordinating the fight on organized crime between the FBI and local law enforcement. Currently she was working on taking down three of the city’s top crime organizations – The Black Dragon Society, run by a Chinese-American named Mike Chen, who had ties to the Triad. The Rose Syndicate, The Black Dragon Society’s arch-rival, headed by street-kid-turned-career-criminal Carli Lloyd Rose. And New Ireland, lead by a former IRA unit commander named Rory Jameson. Officially, Ali wasn’t allowed to talk with Ashlyn or anyone else outside of her partners about her work, but due to Ashlyn’s unique skillset and short-but-infamous history with Chicago’s law enforcement entities, she discussed things with Ashlyn anyway, so Ashlyn knew enough to know that things were reaching a boiling point. She worried about Ali. It wasn’t that Ali couldn’t take care of herself, but Ashlyn thought that she shouldn’t be working as hard as she was, given her current condition. She had brought it up a couple of weeks ago to Ali, but Ali had said she felt fine, so Ashlyn had dropped it.

Ashlyn laid back down in bed, exhausted. Her sleep schedule was turned around. She had just finished a rushed freelance graphic design job. A repeat client that Ashlyn liked had called three days ago in a panic needing a stack of brochures right away, so Ashlyn had pretty much worked non-stop since she had gotten the call. She didn’t really need to work, since the inheritance she had received after her parents had died had left her wealthy, but since everything had calmed down after she had finished waging her one-woman war against organized crime in Chicago three years ago, she took odd freelance graphic design and computer consulting jobs just to keep active. She had wrapped up her current job this morning after working 36 hours straight, and then had fallen asleep after Ali had left for work. She had slept the entire day and into the evening. She closed her eyes, and as she drifted back to sleep, she found herself wondering what her wife was up to.


	2. Chapter 2

“How’s that, big boy?” the dancer purred, as she crawled onto her customer’s lap and stroked his crotch through his pants. The dancer was wearing a black bra, a pair of black lace underwear, black high boots, and nothing else.

“Very nice, lass”, said Sean O’Grady. O’Grady was Rory Jameson’s third in command. He, his top lieutenant, and a high-ranking member of the Rose Syndicate were in the back room of Sullivan’s, an Irish pub on the south side of Chicago. Four more Rose Syndicate members were in the main bar area, along with a half dozen other members of New Ireland. Sullivan’s was a frequent hangout for Jameson and the members of his crew, and it supplied women to perform exotic dances in the back room for its patrons. Tonight, New Ireland was selling a shipment of guns to the Rose Syndicate. Jameson had placed O’Grady in charge of the deal. Business will commence, O'Grady thought, but there’s time for a bit of fun beforehand. The sassy little tart purring on him now had just finished a dance on his Rose Syndicate guest, and now it was his turn. He put his hands on the dancer's hips. “Turn around”, he said, as he spun her around so she was facing away from him. The dancer complied and began to grind her hips slowly on his lap. “That’s it, lass – move that arse”, O’Grady said. The other men laughed and drank their beers.

"You got it, big boy. You wanna ride me?" she said with a smile. "I'll be your little baby horse." She continued to grind for another minute and then got up off O’Grady’s lap. “Well baby, my shift is over. It’s been a pleasure, doll”, she said. She cupped O’Grady’s cheeks and went to move away, but O’Grady pulled her down.

“Not yet”, O’Grady said. “You’re shift isn’t over until I say it’s over, lass.” He grabbed the dancer by the hair and pulled her face to his crotch. The men laughed.

“No, wait-”, the dancer said, concern creeping into her voice.

“No more waiting, you little cock tease. Time for your supper”, O’Grady said. He tightened his grip on the dancer's hair and began unzipping his pants when he heard commotion and yelling in the main bar outside. “What the fuck“, he said as he looked towards the door. He stood up and let go of the dancer's hair, and as he did, the dancer struck him hard in the groin. “Shite!” he groaned, as he fell off the chair.

“That’s right, asshole - the wait’s over!” Alex Morgan yelled, getting up. "I’m a federal agent, and you’re under arrest.” O’Grady’s lieutenant stood up, and as he did, Alex grabbed the chair that O’Grady had been sitting on and slammed it into the lieutenant's face. The wood splintered and the man went down. The Rose Syndicate member got up and took a swing at Alex, but she dodged the punch and pushed him against the wall. O’Grady collected himself and bolted out the door. Alex delivered three quick punches to the Rose Syndicate thug and then grabbed her opponent’s arm to turn him around and pin him against the wall, but the man grabbed Alex’s hair. He yanked her head back and was about to punch her in the face when he felt a swift kick to the ribs. He cried out in pain, let go of Alex and doubled over, and as he did, Special Agent Ali Krieger, who had delivered the kick, drove a knee up into his face. The man flew backwards, toppling over a chair, and laid still, groaning.

“Cavalry’s here”, Ali said. She had organized the raid tonight and had enlisted the help of the FBI and the CPD.

“’Bout damn time”, Alex said. “I’ve been waiting here for the last two hours, grinding on these pricks.” She motioned to the two men laying on the ground.

Detective Hope Solo entered the room. Hope was in charge of the Strike Team, a special anti-gang/anti-organized crime unit that operated under the Chicago Police Department. She was Ali’s primary local contact. “Front room is secure”, she said to Ali. She took a quick survey of the room, then looked at Alex. “You okay?” she asked, as she handed Alex a spare 9MM.

“Yeah, I’m fine”, Alex said, as she checked the chamber and clip.

“Where’s Jameson?” Ali asked Alex.

“He’s not here, but O’Grady just ran out the door, and the guns and money are in the closet”, Alex said, pointing towards the back of the room.

“Dammit”, Ali said. She had been hoping to bust Rory at this deal tonight.

"Krieger!" a voice yelled from the front of the bar. The voice belonged to Megan "Pinoe" Rapinoe, Ali's primary contact at the FBI. "O'Grady's going out the back!"

“Shit”, Ali said, as she started to back out of the door. “Secure the rest of the bar and the guns and money”, she said to Hope. “I’m going after O’Grady with Pinoe." Ali bolted out the back door, gun raised. She looked to the left, saw Grady running down the alley, and took off after him.

“Krieger, wait up!” Megan shouted as she burst through the back door of the bar after Ali.

“C’mon, Pinoe! Let’s move!” Ali called over her shoulder, already in pursuit. She took off after O’Grady with Pinoe in tow. She saw O’Grady round a corner, 30 feet ahead. She slowed herself, and then rounded the corner cautiously. O’Grady was halfway down the block, running at full speed. Ali went after him, Pinoe right behind her.

“This dude’s fast”, Pinoe said, starting to pant.

“I can catch him”, Ali said through gritted teeth. She should be able to catch him. She had been a star on her high school soccer team, and she had kept herself in good shape ever since. Even her ex-Special Forces wife said that Ali was in great shape. But lately, she had felt slower. It’s probably the-

“We’re gonna lose him”, Pinoe said. She pulled out her walkie. “Alex! We need help. In pursuit of O’Grady. He just turned the corner from 115th onto Pulaski and is heading south towards 116th.” She signed off the walkie. “C’mon Kriegs! We gotta catch this guy!”

“Fuck, I’m trying”, Ali said, trying to kick it into overdrive. She pumped her legs harder, but her body just wouldn’t move any faster. O’Grady kept pulling away. He rounded another corner, half a block ahead of her. “Fuck”, Ali said, starting to pant.

“Dammit, he’s pulling away”, Pinoe said, twenty feet behind Ali, straining to keep up.

O’Grady sprinted down 116th. He got halfway down the block and looked back, continuing to run. No one. He had lost them. Kelly’s Pub, another one of New Ireland’s hangouts, was just two blocks away. He could pop in there, go down to the basement, and hide out until things cooled down, then contact Jameson and maybe get out of town for a bit until things blew over. That was, if Jameson didn’t kill him first for the deal going bad tonight, but right now that was the least of his worries. Right now he just needed to get off the street. He continued to look back, still running quickly, and as he turned back around to face forward he ran right into the butt of a government issue 9MM. He went perpendicular in the air, like a jester slipping on a banana peel, and then fell backwards onto the concrete. The back of his head hit the pavement hard, and he groaned and closed his eyes in pain. When he opened them, he was looking down the barrel of a 9MM and up into the face of Special Agent Alex Morgan of the FBI.

“Hi big boy”, Alex said condescendingly, training her gun on O’Grady, who continued to groan. Ali and Pinoe rounded the corner. They saw Alex and O’Grady and drew their weapons as they hurried over. Alex looked quizzically at Ali as she approached. “Krieger – did this asshole outrun you? I thought you were fast. What the hell happened?” Ali shrugged, still winded, and Alex tucked her gun into her underwear. She turned O’Grady over onto his stomach and then planted a knee in his back, then slapped on the handcuffs she’d been carrying. She hauled him up to his knees and said, “You’re under arrest.” Then she leaned into his ear and whispered, “Lass.” 

“Nice work”, Pinoe said to Alex, then looked her FBI partner over. “And nice undercover outfit.”

“Eat me”, Alex shot back at Pinoe.

“You can eat me, lass”, O’Grady came with one last quip. Alex kicked him in the groin, and he doubled over and groaned again.

“Actually, pretty soon it will be you eating it in Stateville, asshole.”

“Alright, guys”, Ali said. “Let’s get back to Sullivan’s. Hope and the Strike Team should have everything secured.” She looked at Pinoe and then at Alex. “Let’s wrap up for the night.”


	3. Chapter 3

Rory Jameson pulled into a vacant parking lot near the industrial area of the southeast side of Chicago. The other car, which belonged to his customer, was already there. Its occupants were standing outside, weapons at the ready, waiting for him. He exhaled deeply, readying himself for an unpleasant meeting. Having his arms deal busted last night by Special Agent Ali Krieger had put him in hot water. His customer had lost men and money, and she was pissed. Rory himself had lost men and guns, and he wasn’t happy either. This could get ugly, he thought, knowing his customer’s ruthlessness. There were few people in the world who made Rory nervous. He was a hard man, having grown up on the war torn streets of Belfast. But this particular individual made him nervous. He exhaled one more time, then got out of the car and walked forward, flanked by four of his best men.

“Rory Jameson”, said Carli Lloyd Rose. She drew out his name dramatically and then smiled. An abused kid from a broken home, Carli had been hustling on the street since age 14. She had gotten her start in prostitution and gambling on the rough-and-tumble west side of Chicago, and now she was the head of one of the most notorious crime syndicates in the city. As a young girl she had dreamed of being an actress, having spent countless hours watching TV as her mother turned tricks in the bedroom of their run-down apartment. Now she left roses on her victims’ bodies after she killed them. It was a nice theatrical touch, she mused. She held a rose in her hand now and twirled it between her fingers as she stepped forward, still smiling. Then her smile disappeared. “What the hell happened last night?”

“You tell me”’ Rory countered. “I lost twenty thousand dollars in guns, and six of my guys went down.” Rory was the largest illegal arms dealer in the city.

“My men went down, too, Rory”, Carli reminded him. “As well as _my_ twenty grand that my men had brought with them to pay _you_ for those guns. Which I now don't have.”

“Well, I don’t know what the hell happened”, Rory said, and then his eyes narrowed. “Your men were followed”, he hissed in an accusatory tone.

“Is that any way to talk to a customer, Rory?” Carli chided.

“You were sloppy, Carli.”

Carli laughed. “Nonsense, Rory. In fact, you’re the one who’s been sloppy lately.” She paused for a moment and then said, “Isn’t this the second time in the last six months your men have been pinched? Didn’t you have a deal with Black Dragon, Chen’s crew, that got busted by Special Agent Krieger as well?”

“That was not my fault!” Rory yelled. “Chen’s men were followed.”

“Again with the ‘following’ thing”, Carli said. “Badmouthing your customers, Rory…tsk tsk tsk. I thought the customer was always right”, she said, and a voice that conveyed taunting.

Rory stared at her hard, and then took a step forward and said, “Go fuck yourself, lass.” At that, Carli’s protection detail raised their weapons. Rory’s men returned suit. They remained in standoff for a few seconds, and then Carli laughed again.

“Rory, Rory, Rory…no need to get vulgar. We’re supposed to be working together. Let’s not blow one simple setback out of proportion.” She motioned for her men to lower their weapons. Rory did the same.

“Fine, but watch your mouth.”

“Fair enough”, Carli put her hands up. “But, you really need to find a way to prevent Krieger and her band of cronies from interfering again.” She paused for a moment and then said, “I’d hate to have to drop one of these on you.” She smiled slightly, holding up the rose in her hand.

Rory nodded his head in acknowledgement of the seriousness of Carli’s implication. People who let Carli down rarely saw their next birthday. He lowered his gaze for a moment and then sighed. “I need a safer pipeline. Krieger has been up my fuckin’ arse”, he said. “Makes it tough to do any business at all.”

“Well, maybe you should kill her”, Carli said flatly.

“What?!” Rory said, incredulous. “Kill Special Agent Ali Krieger? I’d have the entire U.S. federal government hunting me down if I even tried that.”

“Well, I guess it depends on how badly you want that “safer pipeline”, Cali answered. Then she thought for a moment and smiled slightly. “Maybe I can help with that”, she said.

“How?”

“I have my ways. Don’t worry about how. Worry about getting me my guns.”

“Fine. You’ll have your guns tomorrow”, Rory promised. Carli smiled. Rory stared at her for a moment, thinking, and then took a step closer. “One other thing”, he said. “I may need your help with something else.”

“Oh? Something else now, huh? And what can I do you for?” Carli asked theatrically with a slight bow.

Rory stared at Carli in passive incredulity. There were times when Carli reminded him of a female version of The Joker. A slightly more psychotic female version. Rory recalled a scene in one of the Batman movies in which Michael Caine, talking about The Joker as portrayed by Heath Ledger, told Christian Bale, "Some people just want to watch the world burn", and then he imagined Carli, bowing theatrically and laughing maniacally as everything around her went up in flames. He stared at Carli for another moment and then continued. ”I don’t know yet about killing Krieger, but I want to kill Krieger’s wife.”

Carli raised her eyebrows. This was a surprise, even for a woman who had seen and heard it all. “Ashlyn Harris?” she asked, and Rory nodded. “The ex-Army Special Forces vigilante?” Carli asked again, and Rory nodded again. After the whole fiasco three years ago with the Marano Family, the Chicago Disciples, JOCT, the FBI and the CPD, Ashlyn was no longer anonymous. The agencies had done their best to keep a lid on her involvement, and she wasn’t exactly a household name to the general public, but interested parties now knew who she was. “Why do you want to kill her? She wasn’t involved in the raid last night.” When Rory didn’t answer, Carli asked “Okay…well then, what do you need from me?”

“I don't know yet. But you might be able to help me, somehow.”

“Isn’t just being a great customer enough?” Carli jabbed, again theatrically. When Rory didn’t say anything, she said, “Okay…well, for whatever reason you want Harris dead, killing her isn’t going to be easy. She’s a pro.”

“I know that. Better than anyone”, Rory said.

“Okay…so why do you want to kill her so badly?” Carli probed again.

Rory paused and then said, “I can’t tell you that. Like I said, I just may need your help.”

“Okay…” Carli said again. “Well then, if you won’t tell me why you need my help, but only that you need my help, then I guess now is as good a time as any to tell you that I may need your help.”

“With what?”

“I want to kill Chen.”

Rory stared at her for a moment and then said, “I can’t help you with that. He’s a large part of my income.”

“Well, if Chen goes away, then I will become more of your income”, Carli answered back. “Rory – it will be the same amount of income for you. I will consolidate his business under mine, so you’ll still be selling the same amount of weapons and all that good shit. It’ll just be all to me.”

“I don’t know…” Rory let it hang. Carli was right – it would be the same amount of business, but he liked having the checks and balances that came with having multiple customers. It made for good business.

“I thought you said it was Chen’s fault that your last deal got busted. I figured you’d be done doing business with him, and that you’d want him gone.” When Rory didn’t answer, Carli said, “So, was it really Chen’s fault that you got busted last time, or was it yours…?” she let is hang.

“Careful, Carli. I warned you…”

“So it was Chen’s fault, then?” Carli reaffirmed, ignoring Rory's threatening tone. Rory stared at her for a moment and then nodded. “Then help me get rid of him”, she said resolutely. When Rory didn’t answer, she said, “Okay - how about this, Rory. If you help me get rid of Chen, I will buy only from you. You'll be the sole provider of weapons to the largest criminal organization in the city. How does that sound?” Rose said with a wink.

Rory stood silent for a moment and then nodded slowly.

“There we go!” Carli said and clapped her hands together in an over-exaggerated display of enthusiasm. She took a step closer to Rory and planted a kiss on his cheek. Then she stepped back, and her smile disappeared. “Get me my fucking guns, Rory”, she said with an icy glare. She motioned to her security personnel, and they got in their car and drove off.


	4. Chapter 4

“So, what happened last night, babe?” Ashlyn asked. She and Ali were sitting on a couch in an exam room at Northwestern Medical Center.

“I don’t know. I was running after that O’Grady guy, Jameson’s third in command. And I just…I just couldn’t keep up. I just felt like…like…heavy, or something. You know, just like, something’s different...” Ali trailed off.

Ashlyn looked at Ali and then kissed her lightly on the lips. “Babe, something is different”, she said, then smiled and put her hand on her wife's tummy. Ali smiled back, grabbed Ashlyn’s other hand gently, and then leaned in to touch her forehead to Ashlyn’s. They had gotten married six months ago, in a private ceremony at St. Benedict Church near their condo, followed by a honeymoon to Hawaii. Three months ago they decided to move forward with having children. After much discussion and consideration of the wounds that Ashlyn had sustained from being shot, they had settled on Ali to carry their first. The pregnancy had been confirmed two months ago. Ali had kept working, saying she felt fine, but in the last two weeks she had felt like she was slowing down. The work in the office wasn’t a problem, but the more physical parts of her job were becoming difficult. The effects of pregnancy were starting to show. “You should be taking it easy”, Ashlyn chided gently, still smiling. “Or, at least taking it easi- _er_.”

Ali pouted at Ashlyn, and Ashlyn smiled supportively. She knew it was tough for her wife to let go of the job. She touched Ali’s nose with her finger and then gave her a kiss. She felt Ali return it, and Ashlyn was about to open the kiss when she and Ali heard someone approaching the room.

“Good afternoon, Ali”, Dr. Rampone said with cheerful professionalism as she walked into the exam room and smiled. “And hello, Ashlyn. Ali, go ahead and have a seat on the exam table.” Ali got up off the couch. “Ashlyn, will you be staying?”

Ashlyn looked at Ali, who smiled slightly back and nodded her head. Ashlyn smiled back and then said, “Yes, doctor. I’ll be staying.”

“Very good”, Dr. Rampone said as she started her exam of Ali. “How are you feeling, Ali?”

“Good. Well, pretty good. I feel like I’m slowing down a little, though.”

“Well, that’s to be expected.”

“I told her that perhaps she should start pulling back from the more strenuous parts of her job”, Ashlyn said, and then winked at her wife, who narrowed her eyes back at Ashlyn.

“I think that would be a good idea”, Dr. Rampone agreed. “Ali, I would recommend laying off strenuous work.”

“Well, that would be nice if I could, but some of us have jobs that involve more than just playing on a computer”, Ali said, jockeying back at Ashlyn, referring to Ashlyn’s graphic design work. She returned the wink to Ashlyn, who smiled, rolled her eyes and mouthed _whatever_.

“Well, slowing down the pace at which you approach life may take a bit of adjustment, but it is the right thing to do”, Dr. Rampone said as she continued Ali’s exam. She carried on for a few more minutes and then said, “Well, everything seems to be fine”. She smiled at Ali and then turned to address Ashlyn as well. “We should be able to determine the baby’s gender in the next two months.” She paused and then smiled. “You two are going to make great parents.”


	5. Chapter 5

“I love this sport”, Mike Chen said to Chao Han, his number two in command.

“Huh?”

“Soccer”, Chen said, motioning to the 60-inch widescreen TV. He and Han were sitting in the living room of Chen’s heavily guarded 5000 square foot house on the southwest edge of Chinatown, watching the Portland Thorns take on the Seattle Reign. “It’s all about strategy.” Chen sat back in his chair and took a sip of his drink. “Most Americans don’t like soccer”, he said, his tone philosophical. “They feel there is not enough action.”

“Sure, boss”, Han said. He really could care less about soccer, but his boss was in one of his philosophical Confucius moods, and when Chen was in that mood, you paid attention, even if you weren’t interested. Han watched the tiny figures run around the screen. One player took the ball from another and passed it to a teammate. That teammate dribbled the ball a bit and passed it to another. That teammate passed it to another, and then the recipient took a shot on goal and blasted the ball past the keeper into the back of the net.

“See that?” Chen said, excited. “For so long, it looks like nothing is happening, and then just like that”, Chen said, snapping his fingers, “everything changes. “You see, it’s not always about constant action. Same goes for us. Sure, we could just go in guns blazing into our battles, but where is the strategy in that?” Han didn’t answer, so Chen kept going. “We need strategy. We unfold it slowly, and then all of a sudden – we strike. Just like that”, Chen said, motioning to the TV screen. “That is what the top teams do, and that is what we must do, to come out on top.”

“Uh, got it, boss.”

“You know what else I love about soccer?” Chen said easily, taking another sip of his drink. “Rivalries. Those are the two best teams in the world”, ” he said, pointing to the screen again, “and that is the best rivalry in soccer today.” He smiled.

“Uh, okay, boss, sure.”

Chen smiled for a moment longer. Han started to smile back, but right when he did, Chen’s smile dropped, and then his face turned serious. He stood up and hurled his glass at the TV. The screen splintered and the glass shattered. “We have a rivalry, too”, Chen hissed. “The Rose Syndicate. We need to get rid of them, once and for all.”

“H-h-how, boss?” Han said, nervous about his boss’ sudden change in mood.

“They were busted two nights ago by Special Agent Krieger and her crew. They are weak right now. We need to strike while they are vulnerable. We need to set up a buy with New Ireland. Make it big. Big enough to secure a partnership with them. If we do that, we can squeeze Carli Rose out of the picture for good. If she can’t get guns, she can’t fight. If she can’t fight, then we can eliminate her.” He glared at Han. “That”, Chen said, pointing to the broken shards of glass, “is what I want the Rose Syndicate to look like.” He paused for a moment to let his words sink in and then said, “Call Rory. Tell him I want to meet.” Han nodded as Chen stalked out of the room.

   
********  
 

The car pulled into the alley. It was deserted except for the lone figure dressed in all black thirty feet in front of them. The driver and the occupant in the front passenger seat got out. They opened the doors for the occupants in the back, and out stepped Rory Jameson and Carli Rose. They had just come from the make-up gun exchange that Rory had promised, and Carli had said she had something to show Rory, so Rory had jumped in Carli’s car and off they had gone. They walked towards the figure in front of them, and then Carli put her hand in front of Rory, motioning for him to stop. She continued on and then stopped a few feet from the figure in black.

“Wu Haiyan”, Carli began with a slight bow. “Ni hao”, Carli said, trying her hand at Mandarin. Wu Haiyan stared back at her, saying nothing. Her expression was blank, her eyes a steely gaze. “Thanks for coming on such short notice.”

“Who is this?” Rory asked, coming up behind Carli.

“This is Wu. She’s a ‘freelance specialist’ of sorts”, Carli said with a smile.

Rory stared at Wu for a moment. “She’s an assassin”, he said, turning to Carli, his eyes narrowing. Rory had told Carli in the car ride over why he wanted to Kill Ashlyn Harris. He really hadn't wanted to tell her, but Carli had kept badgering him, so he finally gave in, especially since Carli was helping him out. He could have sworn that Carli had actually squealed in delight at the mention of killing Harris and Krieger.

“If you want to put it like that”, Carli said. “We’ve worked together in the past, some very profitable jobs, haven’t we, Wu?” Carli smiled at Wu. Wu’s face remained passive.

“She’s Chinese”, Rory said.

“Very good, Rory”, Carli said condescendingly.

“Well, what the fuck do we need a Chinese assassin for?”

“You want to kill Ashlyn Harris and Ali Krieger, right?”

“Well, Harris yes, not sure about Krieger yet…” Rory trailed off.

Carli sighed dramatically. “I wish you would dream bigger, Rory”, she said theatrically, “but fine – we’ll say just Harris. Well, Wu”, Carli continued, gesturing to the figure standing before them, “can help us out.”

“I still don’t understand what we need a Chinese assassin for”, Rory said dubiously. “Plus, how do we know she doesn’t work for Chen?”

“Ahhh, good question, Rory”, Carli said. “Wu is one of few in the Chinese underworld that is not associated with Chen.” Carli leaned over to Rory and in a conspiratory tone whispered, “Chen killed Wu’s family”, then turned her attention back to the group. “That’s why she’s perfect for our needs.”

“I see”, Rory said. “Deception. Make it look like Chen hit Harris-“

“And even Krieger”, Carli interrupted.

“Whatever, sure”, Rory said, acquiescing, and Carli smiled. “But I want Harris to know that it was me when I hit her, not some Chinese acrobat”, he said, motioning to Wu.

“Rory”, Carli said sweetly, “If we hit Harris and she dies, which will happen, what difference does it make if she knows it was you who hit her? She’ll be dead, so she won’t know anyway.”

Rory stared at Carli for a moment, taking in that truth. “Whatever”, he muttered and then looked back at Wu. “She’s cute”, Rory said. He took a few steps closer to Wu. “Think she’s up to the task?” Rory asked Carli. “She looks like just another pretty face”, Rory added, caressing a lock of Wu’s hair.

“Uh, Rory, I wouldn’t do that if I was you. She doesn’t like to be touched-“ Carli tried to warn Rory, but it was too late. Wu grabbed Rory’s hand, lightning quick, and bent it backwards. Rory yelped and went down to his knees, and as he went down, a short jian blade seemed to materialize out of nowhere in Wu’s other hand. She pressed the steel against Rory’s neck, and Rory felt the sting as the blade started to penetrate his skin.

“Uh, Wu – whoa, stop, hold on, we need him”, Carli said, putting her hands out to appease the assassin. Wu stared at Rory for a moment longer, then looked at Carli. She held her blade to Rory’s neck for a few seconds longer and then sheathed her blade and released his hand. Rory exhaled deeply and put his good hand to his neck. The cut wasn’t deep, but his hand came away slick with blood. Then he tried to flex the hand that Wu had grabbed. She hadn’t broken anything, but it hurt like hell. Still on his knees, he cursed under his breath and glared at Wu.

“Wow, that was tense”, Carli said dramatically with a smile. "So, now that we've got that out of the way, Wu, this is for you.” She handed Wu a large envelope. “Half now, half upon completion.” She also handed Wu two photographs and a piece of paper. “Here are your two targets, and here is the JOCT address downtown. You should be able to pick up Special Agent Krieger’s trail there. I’d say that’s a good place to start, wouldn’t you?” Carli said with a beaming smile.

Wu looked at the envelope, the two images and then the address. Then she looked at Carli and nodded. Carli smiled back, one last time, and then Wu backed into the shadows and disappeared.

“That fucking bitch almost chopped me bloody head off”, Rory spat when Wu was gone.

Carli looked at Rory and smiled. “Still think she’s just another pretty face?”

   
********  
 

“So, what’s next?” Megan asked Ali. Megan, Ali, Alex and Hope were in Ali’s office. With Hope was the rest of her Strike Team: Detective Tobin Heath, Detective Christen Press, and Detective Julie Johnson. It was three days after the raid at Sullivan’s. They had spent the last two days trying to squeeze the thugs they had rounded up. Now they were trying to figure out the next move.

“We should celebrate a job well done, and to do that we should get our own strip tease from Special Agent Alex Morgan”, Tobin said with a smile. Tobin had served as an Army EOD team member and then as a bomb technician on a SWAT team. She was the Strike Team’s explosives expert.

“In your dreams, sweetheart”, Alex smirked, and blew an air kiss to Tobin.

“Hey, Nutmeg”, Hope addressed Tobin. “Flirt later. Focus right now.”

“'Nutmeg’?” Alex repeated, raising an eyebrow.

“Yup”, Tobin answered. “There ain’t no legs I can’t get between”, she said with a smile, then winked at Alex. Megan laughed, and Alex rolled her eyes.

“Guys – c’mon, get back on the clock”, Hope said. She was all business. “Krieger – what the next step?” she asked, repeating Megan’s question.

“I’m not sure”, Ali said. “I mean, we’ve had busts on all three organizations in the last few months, and we’ve gotten thousands of dollars worth of guns and dirty cash off of the streets, but we still can’t seem to get to Chen, Rose or Jameson.”

“”The busts were large, though”, Megan said. Megan had a goofy side, but she also had a sharp tactical mind and a penchant for feeling when things were building. “I feel like something big is coming.”

“Like what?” Christen asked. She was the sharpshooter on Hope’s team, and as far as Hope could tell, only Ashlyn was a better shot than Christen.

“I don’t know yet”, Megan responded. “But I just feel it.”

“Anyone we busted talking?” Julie asked. She was the newest member of Hope’s team and an expert in self-defense and hand-to-hand combat.

“Nope”, Ali said. “No one’s talking.”

“Dammit”, Hope said. She was silent for a moment and then said, “Let me take another go at O’Grady.”

“You can try, but if he hasn’t talked by now, he’s probably not gonna”, Ali sighed.

“How about me?” Alex offered. “Maybe he’ll talk to me. He _likes_ me”, she said sarcastically.

“Yeah, you’re probably about the last person he’ll talk to”, Ali said.

“How about your wife?” Hope asked Ali.

“What?” Ali said.

“Ashlyn. Maybe she can help us…”

“Hope…” Ali responded, letting it hang, warning in her voice, as she thought about the events of three years ago. 

“No, Ali – I’m not saying send Ashlyn after O’Grady. I’m just saying, you know…maybe just bring her in. Put her in the same room. We can go in with her. You, me, Ash, and O’Grady. I don’t know…maybe just having her in the room will scare him into talking.”

“Hope, I can’t really do that. I mean-“

“Yeah, I know, it’s against the damn law”, Hope huffed and ran her hands through her hair. “Well, then I’m out of ideas. I mean, we keep busting up deals, but the heads are still here. It’s like fighting the hydra or something. You know – cut off one head, and another one pops up.”

“Actually, I think it’s two more pop up, Hopey”, Megan said. The group laughed but then quieted down when Hope leveled her icy stare at everyone.

“Alright”, Ali said, looking at her watch. It was just before eight o'clock at night. “Let’s call it for today. We don’t need to figure this out right now, but I want to get rolling on ideas on how we can get to the heads tomorrow morning. Let’s meet back here at 9am.”

“Sweet, out early”, Tobin said. She looked at Alex. “Can I get that dance, Special Agent Morgan?” she asked with a smirk.

“You’d better wine me and dine me if you even want a chance, Nutmeg”, Alex shot back.

“Oh my God. Kids”, Hope said, shaking her head at Tobin and Alex. Then she looked at Ali. “Krieger – drink?”

“Sounds good, but no can do”, Ali said. “Date night with the wife.”

“Ooohhh”, Megan said as she walked out the door. “Bet it will be ‘killer’”, she joked, referring to Ashlyn being an ex-Green Beret.

“Jesus, Pinoe, you’re so lame”, Ali said, rolling her eyes as she ushered everyone out of her office.


	6. Chapter 6

Ashlyn was putting the finishing touches on her outfit when she heard the keys in the front lock. She came out of the bedroom just as Ali was stepping through the front door.

“Hey babe, welcome home”, Ashlyn said. She wrapped her arms around Ali’s waist and planted a kiss on her lips.

Hey hon”, Ali breathed back as she wrapped her arms around Ashlyn’s neck. “Mmmmm…you smell good”, she said, as she put her nose to Ashlyn’s neck and breathed in her scent.

“Thank you”, Ashlyn said and then laughed. “Wait - wasn’t that the line I used on _you_ when we first met?”

“Right before I pulled a gun on you?”

“And stomped on my foot?”

“Oh yeah”, Ali said, wincing at the memory. “Sorry about that. I really did think you were going to-”

“Babe – I told you that night, if I was going to have killed you, I w-“

“Yes, I know, you would had already done it, right”, Ali said, with a head nod. “Well, thank God it never got to that.”

Ashlyn smiled and then planted another kiss on her wife’s lips. “It never _would_ have, babe.”

Ali smiled. She fingered the collar of Ashlyn’s shirt and then said, “Well, like I said, you smell good, but I don’t, so I need to catch up. Just give me a few minutes in the shower and then we’ll go?”

“Sounds good”, Ashlyn said, letting her wife pull away from her. Ali walked a few feet towards the bathroom, and then Ashlyn said, “Hey babe…you want company?”

Ali stared at Ashlyn. “Well, yeah, that would be great, but you’re already dressed…”

“Not a problem”, Ashlyn said, already undoing her tie. “I can get dressed again.” She smiled at Ali, who smiled back, and then started stripping off her clothes as she ran for the shower.

   
********  
 

“I love this place”, Ali said, as she and Ashlyn pulled up to Lin’s Chinese bistro. Lin’s was Ali’s favorite Chinese restaurant in Chicago. Ashlyn put the car in park and then walked around to Ali’s side to open the door for her. A car pulled up and parked a few stalls away from them. There was no cars between them, but it was the middle of the week, so the parking lot was pretty empty. Ashlyn, still hyper-vigilant even after being out of the Special Forces for over five years, glanced over. A young Asian woman wearing a baseball cap and a black leather jacket looked over at her and then quickly looked down. It looked like she was scribbling onto a notepad. Probably the delivery driver, Ashlyn thought. She opened Ali’s car door and then ushered her to the front door of the restaurant. Right before they entered, she looked over at the car one last time. The young Asian woman was staring back at her, but quickly dropped her gaze again and went back to her notepad. Ashlyn thought about saying something, but she didn’t want to cause alarm, especially for no reason.

“Hey, hon – are you alright?” Ali’s voice brought Ashlyn back. It’s probably nothing, she thought.

“Yeah, I’m good, sorry”, Ashlyn said. “Let’s go eat”, she said with a smile and then followed Ali through the front door. 

   
********  
 

“Mmmmm…this is soooo good, hon”, Ali said, as she helped herself to more kung pao chicken.

“Glad you are enjoying it, babe”, Ashlyn said and smiled. She and Ali were sitting in a booth, across from each other. Ashlyn reached across the table, found Ali’s free hand, and intertwined their fingers.

“Feels nice to be out, too”, Ali said, after taking a bite. Over the last few months, when Ali had free time, she and Ashlyn had been spending more and more of time at home.

“I bet”, Ashlyn said with a smile. “Well, enjoy it. Going out may become a less-often occurrence.”

Ali smiled back at her. “I know”, she said.

“Well, at least we can still get takeout, like, when you’re…laid up”, Ashlyn said with a smirk.

“Hey, listen here, jerk-o”, Ali said, trying to look at Ashlyn with a stern face, but she couldn’t hold it in, and she laughed. Ashlyn laughed with her, and then Ali then looked down at her stomach. “Well, being laid up will be worth it. Plus, then you’ll have to wait on me hand and foot.”

Ashlyn laughed. “You know I will, babe. You’re my princess”, she said, and Ali smiled. Then Ashlyn took a sip of water and asked, “Sooooo…have you thought any more about names?”

“I have, in fact”, Ali said, with a nod of her head.

“Well…if it’s a boy…?” Ashlyn let is hang.

“Christopher”, Ali said resolutely with a smile. “Christopher Krieger-Harris.”

Ashlyn smiled back. “I like it”, she said, and squeezed Ali’s hand. “And, if it’s a girl…?”

“Haley”, Ali said, again resolutely and all smiles. “Haley Krieger-Harris.”

“I like that name too, babe”, Ashlyn said. She really did like both names. And even if she hadn’t been wild on either one, as long as Ali hadn’t picked a name she hated, she would have gone with it. Ali’s my everything now, Ashlyn thought, and she deserves whatever she wants. She looked at Ali and smiled, a big, I’m-so-in-love-with-you smile.

Ali looked back at Ashlyn, and then cracked a smile of her own. “What, hon?”

“What?”

“You’re smiling at me, like, really big right now.”

“I’m happy”, Ashlyn said. “I mean, I don’t know…I met you, I got to marry you, and now we’re having a child.” She saw Ali’s smile grow wider, and she exhaled a deep breath. “Life’s just…really great right now.”

   
********  
 

“Well, that was good”, Ashlyn said, as she handed her credit card to the cashier. She gave Ali a quick kiss and then looked into the parking lot as she waited for the cashier to ring her up. She saw the delivery driver walking across the parking lot.

“Excuse me”, Ashlyn said to the cashier. “Is that woma-“

“I'm sorry, one moment”, the cashier said as the restaurant phone rang. She held up a finger as she answered. “What can I get you”, she said into the receiver, as she readied herself to take a phone order. 

“Ugh…hon”, Ali said, as they waited.

“You okay, babe?” Ashlyn asked.

“Yeah, just ate too much, and, you know, with this extra weight…”, Ali said, motioning to her stomach.

Ashlyn laughed slightly. Lately this had become a bit more commonplace. After eating, Ali liked to lay down on the couch. “Alright, princess”, Ashlyn said. “We’ll get outta here as soon as I sign the check.”

Ali smiled appreciatively, and the receipt printed from the register. The cashier was still on the phone, but she handed the receipt to Ashlyn. Ashlyn signed it quickly, and then took Ali by the hand and ushered her out of the restaurant. As she headed towards the car she noticed that the delivery driver was no longer in the parking lot, but her car was still there, parked a few stalls over from theirs. That’s weird she thought, but maybe the delivery driver just ducked inside to grab another order. Maybe through a side door, Ashlyn thought, since she didn’t come through the front door. Lin’s must do a nice takeout business because the restaurant is usually pretty empty, Ashlyn mused, as her thoughts wandered to how it was that a lot of Chinese restaurants seemed to be empty a lot but somehow stayed in business. Then she chuckled to herself as she thought about how a lot of Chinese restaurants host unlicensed gambling, usually in a basement or back room. Then her thoughts shifted back to the fact that she had meant to ask the cashier about the delivery driver. There was something off about her, Ashlyn thought. Then again, maybe not. Maybe I’m just being paranoid or something, seeing bad things where there are none. Years of elite training for operating in hostile environments had conditioned her to notice minute details that could signal danger, but often times, especially in the civilian world, things ended up being nothing. Maybe I’m just making things up in my head, Ashlyn thought. Well, I’m a civilian now. Maybe it’s time I start thinking like one, she thought. But, maybe I should go back in and ask the cashier about the delivery dri-

“Hon”, Ali said, snapping Ashlyn out of her thoughts. Ashlyn looked over at Ali, and realized that Ali was standing there, waiting for her to open the car door for her.

“Oh, yeah, sorry”, Ashlyn said.

“Hon – what is it?” Ali asked, looking into Ashlyn’s eyes.

Ashlyn looked at Ali for a moment, then looked over at the delivery driver’s car, and then scanned the parking lot. “Nothing”, she said, with a sheepish smile.

“Uh, okay”, Ali said, noticing the way Ashlyn had looked around at their surroundings. She knew Ashlyn was hyper-alert and often got lost in surveying her surroundings, but usually she snapped out of it quickly. “You sure?” Ali asked.

“Yeah, I’m good”, Ashlyn said. “Let’s get you home, princess. Couch awaits.” She smiled a reassuring smile and then opened the door for Ali and let her in. She walked around the driver’s side, got in and started the engine. Then she put the car in reverse and turned to look behind her, and as her head was mid-turn, her eyes fell upon the delivery driver. She was standing near the side of the restaurant, partially in darkness, partly obscured by the corner of the building. Ashlyn stared at her for a moment. The delivery driver was staring back at her, and a moment later she raised her hand slightly, and Ashlyn’s blood ran cold. She looked at the delivery driver’s car, just a few feet away, and in that instant, the triggers in her mind went off.

The world went into slow-motion. Ashlyn yelled “Nooooooooooooo!!!” Ali looked over at her, bewildered. Ashlyn reversed the car as fast as she could out of the parking lot, not caring if she backed into anyone driving down the street, but she only got about fifteen feet before the bomb that was in the delivery driver’s car exploded. It destroyed the front of the restaurant, blowing out the windows, and sent Ashlyn and Ali’s car rolling side over side.


	7. Chapter 7

Ashlyn’s eyes fluttered open. For a moment she had no idea where she was, and then it came to her. She was in a hospital. Her mind flashed back to the last things she remembered before blacking out. Lin’s parking lot. The delivery driver. The car bomb. And Ali. Ali. Where is Ali? she thought.

Ashlyn Sat up in bed, and as soon as she did she felt pain shoot through her body. She turned a few different ways, trying to ascertain the extent of her injuries. She could move all of her limbs and extremities, so to her best assessment nothing was broken, but her head, neck and her back were sore. She sat still for another minute and then tried to swing her legs out of bed so she could stand up. She stood up and took a few steps towards the door of her room, but her legs felt weak, and she collapsed against the door. She cursed, and a nurse rushed in.

“Mrs. Harris, please, take it easy”, she said, helping Ashlyn back to her feet. She tried to get Ashlyn back onto the bed but Ashlyn wouldn’t budge.

“Where is my wife?” Ashlyn asked, worry and anger both in her voice.

“Mrs. Harris, please – you have a concussion, and some minor muscle damage in your back and neck”, the nurse said. She tried again to usher Ashlyn back onto the bed but Ashlyn stood firm.

“What room is my wife in?” Ashlyn asked again, feeling strength coming back to her body. She had been trained to fight through minor, and even major, injuries.

“Mrs. Harris, please, you need to rest. If we can just get a doctor in here to see-“ the nurse started in but Ashlyn grabbed her neck, not hard enough to choke her, but enough to hold her firm.

“I don’t need to rest”, Ashlyn said. “I’m strong enough to choke the life out of you, so I’m strong enough to walk to another room.” She stared the nurse in the eye and then said, “So, one last time: what room is my wife in?”

 

********

   
The nurse took Ashlyn to another room. She opened the door, and there was Ali. She was lying on a hospital bed, tubes running out of her arms and nose. Hope and Megan were in the room, standing by Ali’s bed.

“Ashlyn”, Hope said. “So sorry.”

“Yeah”, Megan said, for once at a loss for words.

“Thanks”, Ashlyn said. “Where are we?”

“Cook County Hospital”, Hope said.

“How long have we been here?” Ashlyn asked.

“Almost twelve hours”, Hope said. “You guys were brought here last night around 10:30pm.”

“And how is she?” Ashlyn asked. She looked at Ali, hooked up to machines, and tears started forming in her eyes. “And where the fuck is the doctor?”

“Right here”, came a voice. The three of them looked over to see a middle-aged man with glasses and a bad comb-over entering the room.

“Doctor – sorry”, Ashlyn said, apologizing for the outburst. “How is she?” Hope looked at Megan, nodded, and the two of them left the room.

“She’s okay”, the doctor began. “She’s stable, but she has a bruised collarbone, a dislocated rib and a pretty serious concussion, along with some minor muscle damage in her neck, back and shoulders.”

Ashlyn stared at him and then asked the toughest question of her life. “She’s pregnant with our child”, she said, and then paused. “What about…”

“So far as we can tell, the baby is fine”, the doctor said, and tears of relief rolled down Ashlyn’s cheeks. “I’ve been told you and your wife were near an explosion”, the doctor continued. “You two are lucky. If you had been any closer to the blast, the injuries to you two and your baby could have been worse. You very well could have been killed.”

Ashlyn sat there for a moment thinking. Someone had come after her. Her and her wife. And their unborn child. She didn’t know who, but whoever it was, they were going to pay. “When will my wife regain consciousness, doctor?”

“Tough to say exactly, but we hope in the next 12 hours”, the doctor replied. “We’ll be monitoring her, and we’ll notify you as soon as she wakes up.”

“Thank you doctor”, Ashlyn said.

The doctor looked at Ashlyn and then said, “Speaking of regaining consciousness, you regained yours, and apparently your strength, pretty quickly. The nurse says you almost strangled her to get her to bring you to your wife’s room. You should be resting in bed.”

“Yeah, tell her I’m sorry”, Ashlyn said, then after a moment added, “I’m fine.”

The doctor smiled faintly and nodded, then left the room. Hope and Megan came back in.

“Ashlyn, we’re so sorry-“ Megan began.

“Someone came for us”, Ashlyn said in a hushed voice.

“Well, we’re not sure what happened-“ Hope started, but Ashlyn cut her off.

“Someone came for us. They came for me, or for Ali, or for both of us, or maybe even our unborn child.”

Hope stared at Ashlyn for a moment and then said, “Wait, Ashlyn, now don’t do anyth-“

“They’re going to die”, Ashlyn said, her eyes dark. “Whoever did this is going to die.”

“Now hold on”, Hope said to Ashlyn. “Let’s just ta-“ she was about to say “let’s just talk this through”, when the door opened and in stepped Mary A. Wambach, head of the Chicago JOCT office and Ali’s direct supervisor. She looked at Hope, then at Megan, then at Ali, and then at Ashlyn.

“How is she?” Wambach asked the room.

“She’s okay”, Ashlyn said. “She’s resting now but should be awake within the next 12 hours.”

Wambach smiled faintly, then asked, “And how are you?”

Ashlyn looked at her, then at Hope, then at Megan, and then back to Wambach. “I’m fucking pissed”, she said. She looked at Wambach for a second longer, and then walked over to Ali. She stared at her wife for a moment and felt a tear well up in her eye. “Babe, I love you”, she said. She paused for a moment, and then she leaned over and whispered, “I’m going to get the bastards who did this.” Then she kissed her wife on her forehead and then kissed their unborn child through Ali’s tummy. Then she stood up, looked at Wambach, Hope and Megan, and then walked out of the room.

“Hold on, Ashlyn, wait!” Wambach called after her, but Ashlyn was already down the hall.

   
********  
 

Ashlyn arrived home a bit after noon. She had taken the bus home and then stumbled inside her and Ali’s condo. She was exhausted and her body ached. She sat down on the couch and was trying to make sense of everything that had happened in the last twelve hours. The delivery driver had blown up the car that had been parked next to them. If Ashlyn hadn’t realized what was about to happen and hadn’t sped them away, or at least as far as they got, she and Ali would probably both be dead, along with their unborn child.

Who was it? Who had come for them? A sad, wry smile formed on Ashlyn’s mouth, as she thought about the reality that, unfortunately, due to her past and her wife’s current professions, there’s no shortage of people who would want to hurt their family. That was the reality, but it still made Ashlyn sad. She closed her eyes and put her hands in her head. Focus, she thought to herself. Who did this? Why? And why now? She rested for a moment, then raised her head and opened her eyes back up. She felt the world come into focus a bit, but no answers came. She looked around the apartment, as if searching for an answer, some clue, and as she gazed across the kitchen her eyes fell upon the kitchen table, and her senses heightened. Sitting in the middle of the table was a bottle of what looked to be liquor. Ashlyn got up off the couch and slowly walked slowly over. This bottle hadn’t been here when we left for dinner last night, she thought, and suddenly she was wide awake. She grabbed a kitchen knife and then slowly made her way through the condo. She went room by room, looking under their bed, opening every closet, covering every nook and cranny. Then she peeked out of the curtains covering the windows to the balcony and scanned the street and the buildings across, looking for any indication of threat or surveillance. She closed the blinds, walked to the kitchen table, and picked up the bottle. It was Jameson Irish liquor. Neither she nor Ali drank Jameson. Then she noticed a card underneath the bottle. She picked it up and examined it. The cover and back were blank. She opened the card, and her blood froze. The inside was all blank, except for a single hand-written word: Slainte.


	8. Chapter 8

“You did what?” Carli hissed.

“I had a bottle of Jameson delivered to Harris and Krieger’s place, along with a note”, Rory gloated. It was too bad that Harris wasn’t dead. He had heard from a source at Cook County Hospital. According to his source, Harris was banged up but basically okay. Krieger was in worse shape. Ideally they’d both be dead, along with their unborn child, but with the way things turned out, it gave Rory a chance to let Harris know who had gotten to her. Plus, he was rather proud of himself for dropping off a bottle of Jameson on the wounded couple. If Carli can have a calling card, why couldn’t he?

“A bottle of _Jameson_ ”, Carli spat. “With a note that says what?”

“Slainte”, Rory said. “It’s like ‘cheers’, or ‘to good health’.”

“And you thought that dropping off a care package was a good idea _why_?”

“Hey, why should you be the only one to have a calling card?” Rory fired back. “Plus, I told you, I want Harris to know it was me, but you said nooooo, don’t do that, so the least I can do is get a little taunt in”, Rory said smugly. “Plus, it’s pretty clever, don’t you think?”

“Oh my God, Rory”, Carli exclaimed. “A bottle of Jameson? Really? Way to give away a huge fucking clue to your identity. You know what? Your fucking ego is going to fuck this whole thing up.”

“Stop being dramatic”, Rory said. “The law doesn’t have shite. Krieger is in the hospital. Solo and the rest of those cronies don’t have anything on us. Plus, even if Harris figures it out, what’s she going to do? We already put the hurt on her once. She’s knows we could do it again. Plus, she’s just one person.”

“Wow. Really, Rory? Maybe you didn’t hear about the last time Harris got pissed off, three years ago? She took out like two gangs worth of people”, Carli exclaimed. “You should have consulted me first before you pulled this little stunt.”

“Well, _you_ should have told _me_ what you were up to!” Rory yelled back. “A car bomb?! Really, Carli? Way to be discreet.”

“What?! I thought you Irish terrorists love bombs. And I didn’t think I needed to run it through you for approval. Plus, it should have worked. Wu said she parked her car right next to theirs.”

“But it didn’t fucking work!” Rory yelled. He paused for a moment, glaring at Carli. “You should have told me”, he said again.

“For what?! You didn’t need to know. All you needed to know was that I was taking care of it. And even though Krieger and Harris didn’t die, if you hadn’t tried to be clever and send a souvenir with your name on the fucking label, everyone would think it was Chen! That’s why we used a Chinese assassin, remember? Johnny Law would chase down Chen and round up his whole organization, and you and I would be scott free!”

“But that still wouldn’t get me what _I_ want, which is Harris dead”, Rory fumed.

“Look – I’ll have Wu finish what she started, alright? She missed the first time, she won’t miss again.”

Rory stared at Carli for a moment. “Fine, but you know what? If she doesn’t finish the job on her next try, then I will.”

“Wait, what?”

“I’ll finish Harris off myself.”

“Look, I told you, Wu will take care of it”, Carli said, exasperated. "Don’t fucking do _anything_ right now, okay? Just lay low and have Damon take care of your affairs for a bit.” Rory gritted his teeth at Carli, and Carli softened her tone. “Look, Rory, we can still have our happy ending. You can still have your revenge, and I can still get rid of Chen. We just need to be smart right now, okay?”

Rory stared at Carli for a moment longer and then said, “Fine.”

“Good”, Carli said and smiled an appeasing smile. She was silent for a moment and then said, “So, how goes your setting up a deal with Chen?”

“I set it up for tomorrow at the U.S. vs. England game at Soldier Field. Chen loves soccer.”

Carli sighed theatrically. “Soccer…I hate that stupid game. Never understood why people watch it. Anyway…” Carli said and let it hang, prompting for more details.

“Chen has a skybox through one of his front companies. My men and I will meet with him there. I’ll tell Chen the exchange will happen underground after we meet. I know you have connections with some of the staff at the field. Your people can sneak in and pose as cops, security, whatever. I’ll let you know what box we’re in, and when I cause a distraction your people can take out Chen and his crew in the confusion.”

“And…what kind of distraction will you be causing?” Carli asked?

“It’s a surprise. You’ll just have to wait and see”, Rory said with a slight smile.

Carli rolled her eyes. “Okay, Rory. But the next surprise better be a good one. No more idiotic moves, alright?” she said. Rory stared at her and nodded, and then Carli pulled out her phone and sent a text to Wu.  
 

********  
 

“Hey babe, it’s me”, Ashlyn said, as she bent over Ali’s hospital bed. It was the evening after the explosion, and Ashlyn had received a call from the doctor. Ali had finally come to. She was awake, but barely.

“Hey hon”, Ali croaked out.

“How are you feeling?”

“Ouchy”, Ali said. “How are you?”

“I’m okay.“

“You recovered fast. Must be that Special Forces training”, Ali said with a small smile.

Ashlyn smiled slightly back. “Yeah”, she said. She took Ali’s hand in hers and then asked, “Did the doctor tell you that the baby is okay?”

“Yeah”, Ali said. She smiled a thankful smile, and a tear rolled down her cheek. She was silent for a moment and then asked, “What happened? We were having dinner, right? And then…explosion...?...I can’t remember…”

“Shhh…” Ashlyn said, stroking Ali’s hair. “Don’t worry about it.”

“But I want to know-“

“Just rest now, babe. We’ll talk in a day or two, when you’re feeling better.” Ashlyn knew that her wife wanted to get right back at it, but for right now, Ali just needed to rest, and Ashlyn just needed to know that her princess was taking it easy and getting better.

“Okay, I’ll rest now. But promise me, Ashlyn Harris, that you’re not going to do anything crazy…” Ali said, already starting to drift back to sleep. Ashlyn watched as Ali fell asleep, then kissed her lightly on the lips. Then she pulled out her phone, sent a text, and then left the room.


	9. Chapter 9

After receiving the bottle of Jameson, Ashlyn had an idea who was behind the bombing, but she wasn’t sure. She also wasn't sure exactly why the person she suspected would have done this, nor did she know the best way to go about getting answers, but she knew that if anyone could help her figure it out, it would be Hope. No one knew the criminal underground in Chicago better than her. 

Hope was in the parking lot at Belmont Harbor in the Lakeview neighborhood on the north side of Chicago. She had received a text from Ashlyn thirty minutes ago. Hope and her team, plus Megan and Alex, had been working the case relentlessly, but there was very little to go on besides theories. Now, Hope was about to meet with Ashlyn to talk off-the-record. Officially, Ashlyn shouldn’t be doing anything regarding the investigation, but Hope was a bit of a maverick, and she knew that putting bad guys behind bars sometimes meant working outside of convention. She was leaning against her car, keeping a lookout for Ashlyn when she heard a slight movement behind her and a quiet voice say, “Hey”.

“Jesus, Ashlyn”, Hope said, whirling around. “Damn, you move quietly.

“Six years in the Special Forces will teach you a bit about stealth”, Ashlyn said.

“How did you get here?”

“I parked up the way. Got myself another car”, Ashlyn answered offhandedly.

“I don’t even want to know”, Hope said. “How are you holding up?”

“Okay.”

“So…what do you have?” Hope asked, and Ashlyn told her about the Asian woman delivery driver and the bottle of Jameson with the card.

“And you’re sure this woman didn’t work at Lin’s?”

“I’m sure. In fact, when I saw her when we first got to the restaurant, I felt there was something off about her, but I kept pushing it to the back of my mind. If only I hadn’t done that…” Ashlyn drifted off, guilt for not being vigilant enough creeping in on her.

“Hey”, Hope said, touching Ashlyn’s arm, “it’s in the past. We can’t undo that. Let’s talk about moving forward.” Ashlyn exhaled and nodded her head. “So, this Asian woman is the assassin”, Hope reaffirmed, and Ashlyn nodded. “So, she blew up the car next to yours, you guys ended up in the hospital, and then you went home, and you found a bottle of Jameson on your kitchen table, that you’re sure hadn’t been there when you left for dinner the night before.”

“Right. Ali and I don’t drink Jameson”, Ashlyn said.

“So, someone broke into your condo and planted it there?”

“Yeah, seems like it”, Ashlyn said.

“Any signs of forced entry?”

“No. Locks and windows were in place.”

“Hmmm”, sounds like whoever broke in knew what they were doing.”

“Yep”, Ashlyn nodded. “And then there was the card. It said “Slainte”.

“What is ‘slainte’?” Hope asked.

Ashlyn stared at Hope for a moment. She really didn’t want to share all of her thoughts with Hope, but she needed Hope’s help. Hope sensed Ashlyn’s reticence and said, “Hey - I know you Special Forces types have a habit of keeping things to yourselves, but in case you haven’t noticed, I’m not exactly a "by-the-book” law enforcement officer.” She paused for a moment and then continued. “Look, I know what you’ve been through, with the Marano’s killing your parents and all, and of course I know all about your involvement in what went down three years ago, but I can’t just let you run around pulling that vigilante shit again. You barely avoided going to prison for that the first time, and unless you want to risk going to prison again, you just can’t go that route.” Ashlyn continued to stare at Hope, so Hope continued on. “Look, Ali’s my friend and my partner, so I want to help you, but I can’t help you if you don’t clue me in.” She looked at Ashlyn, and felt Ashlyn’s gaze soften. “So, why don’t you tell me what you know, and we’ll go out and fucking get whoever did this”, Hope said, with an air of finality.

Ashlyn exhaled, and then said, “I killed a man named Jimmy Burke.”

“Jimmy Burke…” Hope let is trail off. “Wait – the IRA terrorist guy?”

“Yeah. Well, technically I didn’t kill him, but I was there with my unit when he died. We tracked him and his crew to a farmhouse in Ireland, and we took them all out.”

“That was you guys!?” Hope stared at Ashlyn for a moment. “Wow. I remember that being all over the news like five or six years ago.”

“Yeah”, Ashlyn said. “Anyway, right before Burke died, he shot me, and then he attacked me with a knife. As he was charging at me, he yelled “slainte”.

“What does that even mean?”

“It’s an Irish expression. It’s like “cheers” or “to your health”. “Obviously Burke was using it sarcastically, since he was about to carve me up. My CO shot him right before he got to me.” Ashlyn looked at Hope. “Slainte is a term that Burke and his crew used a lot. That was like, their thing: to yell that word right before they killed someone. It was like their battle cry or something.”

“Huh”, Hope said and sunk into thought. “So, what are you thinking, Ashlyn? That somehow Jimmy Burke is back from the grave and coming for you?”

Ashlyn looked at Hope and then laughed slightly. “No. I don’t know what I’m getting at”, she said. “I just don’t know...” she trailed off, defeat in her voice.

“No, hold on…”Hope said, trying to think things through. “So, there’s an Asian assassin, a bottle of Jameson, and then a card with ‘slainte’ written on it. The Asian assassin…I mean, when we first got wind of that, my first guess was that Chen sent her, but it seemed too obvious. We’ve been rounding up members of Chen’s crew anyway, but I doubt anything’s going to come from them. Again – it doesn’t really make any sense. I mean, why would Chen send someone and have that person operate in plain view?”

“Maybe he didn’t. Maybe someone else did: meant to be deception.”

“Right”, Hope said. “So in case it failed, like it did, or in case the street cameras picked up someone, or anyone else like other people in the restaurant saw someone, then they would report seeing an Asian, and suspicion would fall on Chen.”

“Exactly”, Ashlyn said.

“But then there's the bottle – obviously meant to come from Rory. But why would he send it? If he really is behind this, that just puts him at risk.”

“I don’t know”, Ashlyn said. “I mean, maybe it’s deception again. Maybe Chen did this and sent the bottle, or maybe it’s someone else entirely. Fuck, I don’t know”, Ashlyn said, frustrated. “And then there’s the card.”

“Slainte? You said it’s an Irish expression, right?” Hope asked, and Ashlyn nodded. “So then, maybe it is Rory, and he might just be using it as a taunt, just like Burke did. I mean, it’s a common Irish expression, right? Anyone who is Irish might use it. May be no connection there between Burke and Rory. Or maybe the card, like the bottle, was meant to be deception as well, made to look like Rory was behind this. Maybe Chen did deliver the bottle and the card.”

“Yeah, maybe, I don’t know”, Ashlyn said, “but it’s the way that it was written on the note, like…I don’t know, just felt so…deliberate. I mean, how would Chen know to write the one word that Jimmy Burke used as a battle cry? And if it was Chen, why would he use an Asian assassin in plain sight?” She looked at Hope, and Hope shrugged. “But, assuming the bottle and card were from Rory, and he was behind the bombing, and he was after Ali…” Ashlyn drifted off. That thought made her sick to her stomach, and she squelched down the anger she felt rising. “Rory could have written anything, right? Like ‘Thanks for busting me last week, this is in retaliation’, or something like that, but he didn’t. He picked the one word that Burke used to use.”

“Yeah, maybe”, Hope said. She nodded slightly, and then she and Ashlyn went quiet.

Ashlyn looked around the harbor. She spotted Stefano’s, a few hundred yards away. “See that?”

“What?” Hope asked.

“Stefano’s”, Ashlyn said and pointed. “That’s the place I took Ali on our first date.” Ashlyn’s continued to look at Stefano’s, and her eyes misted over with the memories.

“Oh yeah, Ali had mentioned that to me”, Hope laughed slightly and mused, And look where we all are now. She and Ashlyn were silent for another moment, and then she asked, “So, as of now, you think that Rory is the number one suspect, and you think that there might actually be a connection between him and Jimmy Burke?” When Ashlyn didn’t answer, Hope said, “C’mon - tell me what your gut is saying.”

“I don’t know, but my gut tells me that there is a connection”, Ashlyn said. “And I need to find out. We can guess all we want, but I need to know for sure.” She went silent for a moment, thinking. There were too many unknowns right now. She was tired of thinking about deception and maybes, and she was getting frustrated. Then her eyes went hard. “I’m going to kill whoever did this”, she said, and then looked right at Hope. “So, can you help me out, or do I need to go rogue and start hammering criminals one by one until someone squeals?”

Hope thought for a moment. “You know, I think I may know just who to ask”, she said, and then smiled at Ashlyn.


	10. Chapter 10

“Hey, princess”, Ashlyn said as she walked into Ali’s hospital room. She leaned over Ali’s bed and kissed her wife on the lips. It was the next morning.

“Hey hon”, Ali said.

“How are you feeling?”

“Better”, Ali said. “I still kind of ache, but I’m okay.”

“Good”, Ashlyn said and smiled. “Do you remember what happened now?”

“Yeah”, Ali said. “I do.”

“W- Hope and her crew are on it”, Ashlyn said.

“Good”, Ali said. She was silent for a moment and then said, “I wish I could be out there with them.”

“I know babe, but the most important thing right now is that you rest and get better”, Ashlyn said and smiled at Ali.

Ali returned the smiled. “The doctor said I can leave tomorrow. God, I can’t wait to go home”, she said, her thoughts drifting to sleeping in their bed and sitting on their couch.

Ashlyn looked at Ali for a moment and then said, “Babe – I need to tell you something.” Ali stared back, waiting, so Ashlyn continued. “After the hospital, when I got home, there was a bottle of Jameson sitting on our kitchen table.”

“Jameson?” Ali said, confused.

“Yes. Jameson.”

“We don’t drink Jameson.”

“I know. Someone put it there.”

“What? Like, broke in to our place and put it there?” Ali asked, alarmed.

“Yeah, that’s what it seems like.”

Ali thought for a moment. “Rory Jameson”, she said. “This was him, wasn’t it? This whole thing…” her voice trailed off.

“We’re – I mean they, Hope and them – are not sure”, Ashlyn said. She was trying to keep a mental note to not allude to being involved, but she had let it slip a bit right there. She hoped Ali hadn’t noticed. Ashlyn paused for a moment, and then said, “There was also a card, along with the bottle.”

Ali’s eyes narrowed. “What did it say?”

“Slainte.”

“Slainte? What is slainte?”

“It’s an Irish term. It means “cheers”, or like “to your health.”

“Irish…sounds like Rory then.”

“Maybe”, Ashlyn said. She paused for a moment and then said, “Babe - there’s something else, something I’ve never told you.”

“Okay…”

“You know the scar on my left ribcage, how I told you that Jimmy Burke shot me there, the night my unit took out him and his crew?”

“Yeah…”

“So, right after Burke shot me, he came at me with a knife. He was going to finish me off. Fortunately McCallister shot him dead before he could, but right as Burke came at me, he shouted something at me.” Ali was silent, so Ashlyn said. “Slainte. He shouted ‘slainte’.”

Ali was silent for a moment, thinking. “So, what are you thinking? That Rory Jameson may somehow be connected to Jimmy Burke?”

“I don’t know.”

“I mean, if slainte is an Irish term, then anyone who’s Irish might use it, right?”

“Right. But the way it was on the card, just all by itself, with the bottle…I mean, if it really was Rory who sent this, he could have written something like, “Thanks for busting me, now I got you back”, or something like that, right?”

“Right, I suppose so”, Ali said.

“But he decided to use one word: a single word, the one word that Burke and his crew just so happened to use as a saying before they killed someone. I don’t know. I just have a feeling…” Ashlyn let it hang.

“Feeling like what?” Ali asked.

“A feeling. A feeling that something’s wrong. Like, when we were at Lin’s, I saw the bomber. The delivery driver. I saw her as we pulled into the parking lot. She was sitting in her car, the car that had the bomb, and she was staring at us.”

“The Asian woman, in the car like two spaces over.”

“Yep. And when we entered the restaurant, I looked over at her and saw her staring at us again. And then, when we were paying our bill, I saw her walking across the parking lot.” Ashlyn looked at Ali. “I could feel in my gut that something was off, but I pushed it away and told myself it was nothing, even though something about her made me uneasy.”

Ali thought for a moment, “That’s why you seemed distracted that night, right before we got into our car to go home.”

“Yes. Something felt off”, Ashlyn said. She paused, and a tear started to form in her eye. “And it was. Very off.” She looked at Ali and said, “I should have been more vigilant…I’m sorry, babe.”

“It’s okay, hon”, Ali said. “We’re okay.” She took Ashlyn’s hands in hers and said, “Hey – we’re okay.”

Ashlyn nodded slowly and then said, “Something is off again, with this whole bottle and card with ‘slainte’ written on it.”

“So, what do you think it means?” Ali said. She could tell Ashlyn felt guilty, and she was trying to get Ashlyn away from that and back on track.

“I don’t know”, Ashlyn said. “But I’m not going to ignore my gut again.” She paused for a moment and then said, “I don’t think it’s safe in our condo. Can you stay here in the hospital for at least another day or two? And then maybe we can stay in a hotel or with Hope or something, until we get this figured out.” Ali nodded, and then Ashlyn said, “In the meantime, we’re – I mean, Hope and the crew are trying to find out what’s going on.”

Ali stared at Ashlyn for a moment and then said, “’We’re’?” repeating after her wife. When Ashlyn didn’t say anything, Ali said, “Babe – that’s the second time you’ve said ‘we’re’.”

“Well, wait, no, what I meant was-“

“Ashlyn, you’re not getting involved, are you?” Ali asked, becoming dismayed. She pulled her hands back and looked Ashlyn in the eye.

“Well, I mean-“

“Ash, no. Please...”

“Babe – someone came for us. And they almost got us. They came for me. For you. For our unborn child.” Ashlyn was silent for a moment and then said, “”I’m not letting that happen again. No one’s coming for us under my watch.”

“Hon – I understand”, Ali said. “But I almost lost you twice: once a few years ago, and once a few days ago. I’m not going to risk losing you again.” She looked at Ashlyn with her big brown eyes and said, “Please – stay out of this.”

Ashlyn looked back at Ali. She wanted to be involved. She needed to be involved. But she understood where Ali was coming from. They had almost lost each other two nights ago, and that was something that neither of them wanted to chance ever again. Still, Ashlyn thought as she continued to stare into her wife’s eyes, I won’t let someone hurt my family ever again, and I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t do everything in my power to make sure that doesn’t happen.

“I love you, babe”, Ashlyn said. “Look, it was my fault that people were able to get to us a few nights ago-”

“No it wasn’t, hon-“ Ali said, cutting her off, but Ashlyn cut her off right back.

“Yes it was. I wasn’t vigilant enough. I ignored my gut. That’s not going to happen again. I won’t let anyone hurt you or our baby ever again.”

Ali stared at Ashlyn and felt a tear form in her eye. “I love you too, Ashlyn, and I want to be able to love you for a long time. I want you around for a long time to come. I want our baby to have you around. Please – don’t put yourself in danger. Just let Hope and Megan do their jobs.”

Ashlyn looked back at Ali. She took Ali’s hands in hers and held them for a moment. Then she leaned in and kissed Ali on the lips. “I love you, babe”, she said and then smiled. “I promise, I won’t put myself in harms way.” Then she moved her head down and kissed Ali’s tummy. “And I love you, too”, she said to their unborn child. “I’ll call you later”, she said to Ali. Then she stood up and walked out of the room, and as she walked out of the hospital she thought, I’ll keep my word and not put myself in harms way, but I can still help out a little, right?


	11. Chapter 11

“He actually agreed to talk to you?” Ashlyn asked.

“No”, Hope said. “He doesn’t know it’s me. He thinks it’s some legal council he’s meeting with. And he definitely doesn’t know you’re coming.” Hope had picked up Ashlyn at the hospital after Ashlyn’s visit with Ali.

“I thought you didn’t want me involved.”

“I never said that. I just said I didn’t want you running around all vigilante style without me knowing what you’re up to. I told you – I want to help.”

Ashlyn smiled slightly. “Is this even legal, what we’re about to do?”

“No, not technically”, Hope said, as they pulled into the visitor’s parking lot. “But I won’t tell if you don’t.” She looked over at Ashlyn and winked.

“And you’re not going to get in trouble for this?”

“Probably”, Hope said as she put the car in park, “but maybe not, if we move quick enough. I pulled a favor from an old friend from the police academy who’s one of the head guards here now. We’re gonna have like five minutes tops.”

Ashlyn listened to Hope lay out the plan, took the gun that Hope handed her and rigged it up, and then said, “We won’t need more than three.”

   
********  
 

“Yo, who am I meeting with again?” Terrell Jackson asked the guards who were escorting him from his cell. Terrell was housed inside the SHU, or Secure Housing Unit, at Stateville Correctional Center, a maximum security prison just outside of Chicago. He was the highest-ranking living member of the Chicago Disciples, and was therefore deemed extremely dangerous, even among the already dangerous general population. Terrell was confined to a solitary cell for most of the day, and when he was not in his cell he was still stuck inside the SHU. Now he was being seated in a small meeting room outside of the SHU near the main entrance to general population. It was his first time outside of the SHU in two years.

“Some lawyer”, one of his guards said. They sat him down in a chair and shackled his arm restraints to the table. They left his leg restraints in place.

“No shit, huh?” Terrell said. “Maybe I’m gettin’ outta here.” He grinned at the guards, who nodded back to him and left the room.

   
********  
 

“Thanks for doing this, Ron”, Hope said to the lead guard who had escorted Terrell to the room.

“Anything for you, Solo. Just make it quick”, Ron said. Then he opened the door to the meeting room.

“Well well well, Terrell Terrell Terrell”, Hope said as she walked into the room.

“Awwww, shit”, Terrell said and screwed up his face. “What the fuck are you doing here, Solo?”

“I missed you, so I came here to talk to you.”

“They told me I was meetin’ with a lawyer.”

“And here I am”, Hope said, smiling and holding up her arms.

“Man, I got nothin’ to say to you”, Terrell spat.

“Well, I hope you change your tune on that real quick, because I’ve only got about five minutes”, Hope said, sitting down in the chair on the other side of the table from Terrell.

“Well then you’re wastin’ your muthafuckin’ time.”

Hope looked right at Terrell for a moment and then looked around the room. “So, how are things going here? I mean, you’re not on the street, which I’m sure is not ideal for you, but word is that you’ve got it pretty good in the joint.” Terrell didn’t say anything, so Hope continued. “Highest ranking Disciple in here, and I know you’ve got a lot of your little Disciple soldiers in Gen Pop. Bet you got some nice business going too, huh? Little dope slinging, little prostitution, maybe some gambling…?”

Terrell smiled back but didn’t say anything. Hope smiled back for a moment, and then her face turned serious. “Okay, Terrell, here’s the deal. I need one piece of information. Just one. If you give it to me, I’ll let you keep your little prison store empire here, and you can live like a king behind these walls for the rest of your life.” Hope paused for a moment and then continued. “But if you don’t tell me what I need to know…” she let it hang.

“You’re gonna do what – take it all away from me?” Terrell laughed. “See, that’s where you’re wrong, Solo. You may be some hot shot detective out on the streets, but it don’t matter what juice you got out there, or what juice you got with the guards in here. In here, everything is different. We”, Terrell said, pointing to himself, “run the joint. And we don’t give a fuck about cops like you, cops on the outside. Hell, we don’t give a fuck about the guards in here. We don’t even give a fuck about the warden. You got nothing for me, Solo, unless you’re gonna tell me that I’m walkin’ outta here today, so fuck you!”

Hope stared at Terrell for a moment and then lowered her head and shook it. “Terrell Terrell Terrell…I was hoping we could work together on this one. Anyway, what I was going to say was, if you don’t tell me what I need to know…you’re going to die. Today.”

Terrell’s brow furrowed in confusion. “Say what?” he asked.

“I said, if you don’t tell me what I need to know, then you’re going to die today. So”, Hope said, looking at her watch, I’ve got about three minutes, so you’d better let me know right now whether or not we’re talking.”

“You know what? Fuck you, Solo! Get the fuck outta here, bitch!”

Hope stared at Terrell and then let out an exaggerated sigh. “Well, then I guess we’re done here. Have a nice life, Terrell. Well, the three minutes that’s left of it.” She called for the guard.

“Shit, Solo”, Terrell said laughing. “You got nothin’. Look at you, going home empty handed, like a little street bitch.” Terrell smirked as he heard the door open. “Yo escort, get me back to my cri-“ he was about to say “crib” when his voice caught in his throat as he saw Ashlyn Harris enter the room, a gun in her hand. “Whoa whoa whoa! What the fuck is this?! What the fuck is she doing here!” He looked at Hope as Hope stood up and shut the door. “Solo! What the fuck is this?!”

“I told you Terrell”, Hope walked over to Terrell, leaned in and gritted her teeth, “you’re gonna die. Right now.”

“Awwww, shi-“ Terrell was cut off when Ashlyn reached over and grabbed his head. She put the gun to his temple.

“C’mon Solo! Call this bitch off of me!“ Terrell screamed in panic, straining against the chains that had him shackled to the table.

“You wanna talk now, Terrell?” Hope leaned in even closer.

“Man, fuck-“

BANG

The gun went off. Terrell screamed. The room was silent for a moment. Then Terrell realized he was still alive. He stared at Ashlyn, then at Hope, then back at Ashlyn, terror in his eyes.

“Dammit”, Hope said to Ashlyn, “Sorry, I think that was the one shot that was a blank.” Hope looked at Terrell and then back at Ashlyn. “Try again”, she said, as Ashlyn put the gun to Terrell’s temple.

“Alright, alright, alright! Shit! I’ll tell you whatever you want to know, just put the fuckin’ gun down, and get this bitch away from me!”

Ashlyn looked over at Hope, and Hope nodded. Ashlyn handed the gun that she had rigged with blanks to Hope, and then she grabbed Terrell by the head and slammed him face first into the table. WHAM!

“Aaaggghhh, fuck!” Terrell screamed.

“What do you know about the hit on me and my wife?” Ashlyn asked, her steely gaze fixed on Terrell.

“Nothin’, man, I didn’t have shit to do with tha-“

WHAM! Terrell’s face hit the table again. He screamed, and Ashlyn turned to Hope and said “Give me the fuckin’ gun.”

“Alright, alright!” Terrell said, putting his hands up as far as the chains would let him. His head was throbbing, and blood was running down his nose. “I didn’t have nuthin’ to do with that, but I know who did.”

“Who?” Ashlyn said, putting her hand up towards the gun and turning back to Terrell.

“Rory Jameson.”

“Rory Jameson”, Ashlyn repeated. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I’m sure.”

“Anyone else?” Ashlyn prodded. Terrell was silent, so Ashlyn motioned to Hope for the gun.

“Alright! Alright. He had help from Carli Rose”, Terrell said.

“Carli Rose?” Ashlyn said. “How do you know that?”

“’Cause we got Rose Syndicate and New Ireland members in this joint. People talk, man. I’m a top dog in here”, Terrell said, unconsciously trying to save a bit of dignity, “and I hear shit.”

"Carli Rose...shit", Hope said. It was never a good thing when Carli Rose was involved. Hope had seen a lot of crazies on the job, but Carli took the cake.

“What did Rory need Carli for?” Ashlyn asked.

“Something about an assassin, or some shit.”

Ashlyn looked at Hope. “The delivery driver”, she said, and Hope nodded. Carli had supplied the assassin.

“Why would Carli help Rory?” Hope asked Terrell.

“Why does anybody help anybody? To get somethin’ in return”, Terrell said.

“What’s Carli getting in return for helping Rory? Cheaper weapons?” Hope drilled back.

“I don’t know, man”, Terrell said. “I swear, I don’t.”

Ashlyn stared at Terrell. Then she looked at Hope. She looked back at Terrell, and then took the gun from Hope and turned her attention back to Terrell. She held the gun to Terrell’s face, grabbed Terrell’s head with her free hand and made him face down the barrel. “Last check - are you sure you’re telling me the truth?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m sure”, Terrell said, shaking in fear. “I’m riskin’ startin’ a muthafuckin’ war in here by tellin’ you this shit.” It was true – truces between prison factions were always shaky, and just one infraction from any side could bring an onslaught of violence. Hope knew that Terrell was risking retribution from either the Rose Syndicate or New Ireland by talking with her and Ashlyn, so the information must be vaild. Terrell continued to look down the barrel for another moment, then looked at Hope. “C’mon Solo – call this crazy bitch off of me.”

Ashlyn looked at Hope who nodded, then looked back at Terrell. She stared at him for another moment, then lowered the gun. She gave it back to Hope and then grabbed Terrell by the front of his shirt. “Okay – I’m gonna leave now. If this info isn’t right, then I’m gonna come back here, and I can guarantee you that the next time I pull the trigger it won’t be a blank in there. Got it?”

“Y-y-yeah, got it”, Terrell said. Ashlyn stared at him hard for another moment and then let go of his shirt. She stood up and took a step towards the door, then all of a sudden turned back towards Terrell and laid a vicious ridge-hand blow right across his nose. Blood shot everywhere as Terrell screamed in pain. “Aggggghh! What the fuck was that for? I told you what you wanted to know, bitch!”

Ashlyn leaned over until she was right in Terrell’s face and said, “Stop calling women ‘bitch’. It’s disrespectful”, then stood up straight, turned around and walked out the door.

“Bye, Terrell. Nice seeing you”, Hope said sweetly. “And thanks for your cooperation”, she added with a wink and a smile as she walked out the door behind Ashlyn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you didn’t read the first story, then this chapter may not have made as much sense as it would have if you had, but the short of it is that Terrell was a part of one of the main criminal elements from the first story. There’s bad history and no love loss between him and Hope/Ashlyn, and Hope put Terrell behind bars at the end of the first story.


	12. Chapter 12

After returning from Stateville, Hope had dropped Ashlyn off back at the hospital, so Ashlyn could get her car and check in on Ali. Ashlyn went to Ali’s room, but Ali was resting, so Ashlyn drove home to their condo. It was just before 6pm and the sun was starting to get low in the October sky. She knew the condo wasn’t the safest place to be, but she just needed to rest for a moment. Then she would pack a bag and check into a hotel and then go by and visit Ali again to see if she was awake. She went to their bedroom and laid down and thought.

So it was Rory Jameson who set up the attack on her and Ali, with help from Carli Rose. Why would Rory need help from Carli? Maybe it had to do with the mysterious assassin, the delivery driver? And why would they be working together? Is it possible that Carli was trying to squeeze out Mike Chen and The Black Dragon Society? Was Carli trying to rope Rory into baiting Chen into a deal, and then maybe an ambush? Or was it maybe the other way around? Maybe Chen was in league with Rory, and Rory was making moves with Carli to gain her trust, only to then be betrayed by Rory, which would make Chen the most powerful criminal in the city? Ashlyn thought some more but no answers came. Too many unknowns, she thought. She sighed, then closed her eyes and started to drift to sleep.

   
********  
 

The sound of quiet scratching woke Ashlyn up. She opened her eyes. It was almost dark. Her sense of time told her that she had been asleep for about forty five minutes. There it was again. Quiet scratching. Metal on metal. Ashlyn’s mind spun for a moment and all of a sudden she was wide awake. Someone was trying to pick the lock on the front door. Ashlyn got up quickly and quietly and went to the safe in the closet of her and Ali’s bedroom. She punched in the combination, opened it up, and withdrew a 9MM from the cache of weapons stored in the safe. She checked the clip and then peered out the bedroom door towards the front door. She heard the lock disengage, and four men walked in. Judging by their clothes, hair and tattoos they were members of New Ireland. Rory Jameson had probably sent them over here to try to catch her and Ali here and finish us off, Ashlyn thought. The thought made her gut clench, and she felt her anger starting to boil over, but she stayed calm and continued to watch.

The last man in closed the door behind him. She waited until the door was all the way shut and the men were in the living room, then she took a deep breath, exhaled, burst out of the bedroom and opened fire. Four shots and four bodies went down. Three were dead, shot in the head. The fourth had been shot in the shoulder. He had dropped his gun was clenching his bad shoulder with his good hand, but he was still standing. Ashlyn shot him in the knee and he went down screaming. She quickly checked the three men she had shot in the head. All dead. Then she walked over to the man who she had shot in the shoulder and knee. He was on the ground, writhing in pain. She knelt over him and grabbed his shirt.

“What the fuck are you doing here!?” she hissed. The man groaned but didn’t answer. Ashlyn took her thumb and stuck it into the bullet hole in the man’s shoulder. The man screamed.

“I said, what the fuck are you doing here!?” she hissed again.

“We came to kill you”, the man said through gritted teeth. “You and your wife.”

“Who sent you?”

The man didn’t answer, so Ashlyn pressed her thumb against the bullet wound in the man’s shoulder again.

“Damon!” the man blurted out.

Damon Flannery. Rory’s second in command. Ashlyn knew who he was from talking with Ali and Hope. She looked down at the man and said, “Where can I find him?” The man didn’t answer, so Ashlyn reached down and squeezed the man’s kneecap. The man howled in pain.

“Kelly’s”, he hissed out.

“Who’s Kelly?” Ashlyn hissed.

“Kelly’s Pub”, the man said, then added. “You stupid bitch.”

Ashlyn looked at him for a moment, then reared back and delivered a vicious head butt to the bridge of the man’s nose. The man fell back, head thudding against the hard wood floor, and he groaned for a second and then laid still.

“I hate that word”, Ashlyn said, staring at the man as he laid motionless on the floor. She looked at the other three men, then pulled out her phone and dialed Hope’s number.

   
********  
 

Ali stepped in the condo, followed by Hope, Christen and Megan. Four uniformed police officers strolled in as well. As soon as Ashlyn saw Ali she walked towards her and threw her arms around her. She held her wife tight as Hope, Megan and Christen spoke with the unis. “Hey babe”, she whispered.

“Hey hon”, Ali whispered back. “Are you okay?” Ashlyn pulled back slightly and nodded her head, and then Ali pulled her tight again. “Hope called me and then picked me up. We came as soon as we could.”

“I’m glad you weren’t here, babe”, Ashlyn said.

“I’m glad you’re okay”, Ali whispered back. They continued to hold each other tight, then Ali looked around and said, “Wow. This kind of looks like my apartment did three years ago, after the Disciples visited.” Then she looked back at Ashlyn and said, “I thought you said you weren’t going to put yourself in harms way, Ash.”

“I think it was these guys who put themselves in harms way”, Christen said, looking at the four bodies on the ground.

“Another reminder to not piss off Ashlyn Harris”, Megan quipped.

“So, what happened here exactly?” Hope asked Ashlyn.

“I came back here after…” Ashlyn let it hang, not knowing if Hope had told Ali about their visit to Terrell.

“I know, hon”, Ali said. “You guys went to visit Terrell. Hope filled me and Megan in on the ride over here.”

“Right. So, I came back here”, Ashlyn began. She saw Ali shoot her a look, so she quickly said, “Look - I knew it wasn’t the safest place to be, but I was just going to grab some clothes and stuff, but I laid down in the bedroom for a second, and I must have drifted asleep, because I woke up to the sound of someone picking the lock. So I went into the safe, grabbed a gun, and I saw them all come in, and then, well…”

“Right. Got it”, Hope said.

“Did any of these guys say anything?” Megan asked.

“Yeah. Well, three of the guys went down right away, but I got some info out of the fourth”, Ashlyn said.

“Which is…?” Hope let it hang.

“Damon Flannery sent them. He’s at Kelly’s Pub.” Ashlyn said.

“Kelly’s is 10 minutes away”, Hope said. “Let’s get down there. What time is it now?”

“Almost seven”, Ali said.

“Damn”, Christen said. “I was hoping to catch the game tonight. Starts like pretty soon.”

“Well then let’s move”, Megan said. “Maybe we can catch the second half, after we round up some bad guys.”

“Alright, let’s move”, Hope said. She turned to one of the uniformed police officers. “We need to move. Tidy up here, and I’ll catch up with you back at the station.”

“You got it, detective”, the officer said.

Hope thanked the officer, then turned to Ashlyn and Ali. “You guys coming?” she asked.

Ashlyn and Ali looked at each other. “Uh…can you give us a minute?” Ali asked. Hope nodded, and then she, Megan and Christen walked out the door, leaving Ali and Ashlyn alone in their apartment.

“Hey”, Ashlyn said. 

“Hey”, Ali said back.

“How are you feeling?”

“I’m okay. Still a bit sore, but I’m okay.”

Ashlyn looked at Ali for a moment and then said, “Look, babe, I know we’re both thinking it, but maybe neither one of us wants to say-“

“Let’s go”, Ali said.

“What?”

“I said, let’s go.”

“Wait…did you say what I just thought you said?” Ashlyn asked.

“Yes. I did. Let’s go.”

“As in ‘both-you-and-me’ let’s go?”

“Yes, hon”, Ali said. She looked into her wife’s eyes and took her hands. “Look, I know I told you that I didn’t want you getting involved, and I know that you really shouldn’t even be involved with this. But these guys came after us, our family – you, me, and the baby – and then they came again. So, I don’t care if you’re not officially’ supposed to be doing anything.”

Ashlyn looked at her wife for a moment. “What happened to Little Miss Follow-The-Law?” she asked with a slight smile.

Ali smiled back sheepishly. “I want to take these guys down. Period. And having you with us is going to help with that.” She looked at Ashlyn and then said, “Just don’t get shot. I wouldn’t be able to explain that to Wambach.”

“And I know I told you just to take it easy, but yep – no one fucks with the Krieger-Harris family, babe.” Ashlyn put her hands on Ali’s hips and pulled her in close. “Just you don’t get shot, either. Fuck explaining anything to anyone – I just wouldn’t be able to live with myself if that happened.” Then she felt Ali’s arms go around her neck, and she pulled her in and planted a kiss on her lips.


	13. Chapter 13

“Hi guys”, Hope said loudly as she shoved open the door to Kelly’s Pub. A dozen men sat around the bar. They turned to the door to see Hope enter the bar. A few of them started to get up but then sat down when they saw Megan and Christen enter with their guns drawn. Then Ashlyn and Ali entered. A few of the men turned white as a ghost.

“Watching the big game, huh?” Hope said. The USA vs. England game was on the widescreen above the bar, about to get underway. United States team captain Whitney Engen was calling for the coin toss. “Didn’t think you Irish boozehounds would be so interested in the Yanks versus the Limeys. Who knew?” She looked around the bar and then said, “We’re looking for Damon Flannery.”

One of the thugs nearest the group stood up, unintimidated by Megan and Christen having their guns out. “What the fuck do you want with him, lass?” he asked.

“Where is he?” Hope asked.

The thug stared at Hope for a second. “Fuck you”, he said. Then he looked at the group. “Fuck all of you bitches”, he spat, pointing at the women.

“Now that’s not very nice-“ Hope started to say, when Ashlyn swooped in. She grabbed the thug’s outstretched finger and bent it backwards.

“Owww!!! Fuckin’ shite!” the man screamed.

“I hate that word”, Ashlyn said. Then she delivered a punishing kick to the man’s stomach. The man started to double over, and Ashlyn rocked him with a nose-breaking elbow strike. The man fell, crashing against a bar stool on the way down. Another man got up and came at them, but Ashlyn put him down with a vicious blow to the neck.

“Where is Damon!?” Hope addressed the room again.

“Fuck you, pigs!” One of the men shouted. Other men started to shout, and a few of them started to get up.

“Stay down!” Hope shouted, drawing her own gun. Ali drew hers as well, and as she did, she saw a figure emerge from the back of the bar. She locked eyes with the figure right before it slipped out the back door, and even though she had never met him she recognized him by his mug shots in the JOCT database: Damon.

“Damon just went out the back!” Ali shouted.

“Shit!” Hope said. She looked at Ali and then Ashlyn. “Go get him! We’ll cover here.” Ali and Ashlyn started for the back, but before they got two steps one of the men at the side of the bar drew his gun and pointed it at them.

The world went into slow motion. Ashlyn yelled “Ali!” and moved in front of her wife. She closed her eyes and put her hands up…

BANG

Ashlyn opened her eyes to see the man falling down. She stood there for a moment, and then looked behind her. Christen was standing ten feet away, barrel of her gun smoking. There was silence for a moment, and then chaos erupted.

“Go!” Hope yelled, and Ashlyn and Ali broke for the back door. They heard shouting and gunshots as Ashlyn kicked open the door.

“Ash – I have to go help them”, Ali said as they headed through the door. “They’re outgunned in there.”

Ashlyn could see Damon running down the alley, thirty feet away. She quickly looked at Ali, then said “Okay. Go. I got Damon”.

Ali smiled and gave Ashlyn a quick kiss on the lips. “Be careful, hon”, she said, then headed back inside. Ashlyn smiled and then headed down the alley after Damon. He was a large man, and he had a head start, but unfortunately for him he was past his prime and spent more time these days drinking Guinness than working out, so Ashlyn was considerably faster. She saw Damon round a corner. Ashlyn rounded the corner cautiously to see Damon trying to scale a wooden swinging gate door to a walkway between two apartment buildings. She sprinted after him, watching as he made it over just as she got within eight feet of the gate. She thought about scaling the gate, but as she got closer she made a last-minute split-second decision. She lowered her shoulder and crashed through the gate. Damon had made it over, but he was only a couple feet away from the gate. The gate plus Ashlyn exploded into him, and he went down, the splintered wood and Ashlyn on top of him. Ashlyn went for a choke hold, but Damon threw her off of him and got to his feet, just as Ashlyn sprung up off of the ground.

“C’mon, lass. Let’s see what you got”, Damon challenged. He was a solid street-style fighter who had brawled his way to the second-in-command position, and in his mind he was going to down this stupid tart in front of him with one punch. He lunged with a roundhouse right, looking to crush the blonde woman’s skull. She’s gonna scream like a bitch, he thought. Unfortunately for Damon, though, no one in the world was better than Ashlyn Harris when it came to hand-to-hand combat. Ashlyn ducked under the blow and then delivered a sharp heel kick to Damen’s knee. The bone splintered and Damon howled in pain. He reached out but his hands grabbed thin air, and Ashlyn moved inside and delivered a punishing knee to Damon's groin, followed by a vicious elbow to his jaw. She heard the crunch of bones breaking and saw teeth flying, and then she grabbed Damon’s outstretched arm. She turned it sideways, positioned her shoulder under it, and snapped the arm at the elbow. Damon howled again, and then Ashlyn pivoted, twisted her hips, and threw Damon over her shoulder. He crashed over a garbage can and landed on the ground face up. He laid still, body hurting so bad he couldn’t move.

“Where’s Rory?” Ashlyn asked as she bent over Damon and grabbed him by the collar. He was still breathing, but it looked to Ashlyn like he was on his way out. “Where is he!?” Ashlyn yelled. She grabbed the broken elbow and squeezed it. Damon howled in pain.

“He’s at the game”, Damon wheezed out.

Ashlyn stared at Damon and then asked, “Why’d you come after us?”

Damon stared at her. “We came for you”, he said. His breathing was becoming labored.

“Why?”

“Because you killed Rory’s brother”, Damon rasped.

“Wait…what?” Ashlyn said. Just then she heard footsteps, and saw Ali and Megan approaching.

“Jesus Christ, Ashlyn”, Megan said.

“Are you okay?” Ali asked, but Ashlyn put her hand up.

“What did you just say?” Ashlyn asked Damon. She grabbed his shirt and shook him.

“You killed Rory’s brother”, Damon breathed out.

“Who’s Rory’s brother?” Ashlyn asked.

“Jimmy Burke”, Damon said, wheezing.

Ashlyn stared at Damon for a moment, not believing what she just heard. “No…what? How?”

“They’re brothers…same father…never said anything to anyone…kept the secret for the good of the Cause…”

So, Ashlyn thought, as she looked down at Damon. Rory had come for her. Not Ali. And not their unborn baby. Rory had come for her, to avenge her brother’s death. How did Rory know Ashlyn had been there that night? She had no idea, but she was going to ask Rory when she found him, before she strangled the life out of him. Guilt started to creep in again, as she realized that Ali and their child had almost died because of her past service in the Special Forces. Then the guilt ebbed away and was replaced by anger. “You know what? Fuck you. Fuck you guys, and your fucking stupid Cause. Guess what?” she asked Damon, as she shook him again. “You failed. I’m still here. And I’m gonna find Rory, and I’m gonna kill him too.”

Damon stared back at Ashlyn through his blood-soaked face, and then he started laughing, a rattling, coughing laugh.

“What’s so funny, asshole?” Ashlyn gritted her teeth.

“You Americans…you always think it’s about you…”, he said. He tried to raise the hand on his unbroken arm and point at Ashlyn. “You, you, you…it’s always about you. Always so self-centered. Well, our Cause is bigger than you”, he said, still pointing to Ashlyn. Then he let his hand drop.

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Ashlyn asked.

“The bomb we almost got you with was but a firecracker…” he whispered, then went out.

“What did you just fucking say?” Ashlyn hissed as she shook Damon. “C’mon, dammit!” she yelled, but Damon was already dead. Ashlyn stared at him for a moment, then let go of his shirt. She stood up and looked at Ali, who was staring down at Damon, like she couldn’t believe what she had just heard. “Are you okay, babe?” she asked.

Ali looked up at Ashlyn for a moment, and then pulled her in and gave her wife a kiss. “Yeah, I’m okay, hon”, she said. “You?”

“Yeah, I’m fine”, Ashlyn said. She turned to Megan. “You guys okay?”

“Yeah, we got it under control in there. Some unis showed up as well”, Megan said, then asked, “What the hell was Damon talking about? And did he say where Rory is?”

“Rory’s at the game”, Ashlyn said, “and I’m not sure what else Damon was babbling about. Something about the Cause being bigger than me, and that the bomb they had sent for us being nothing but a firecracker, or something.”

“What does that mean?” Ali asked.

“I don’t know. Maybe there’s something bigger in the works?” Ashlyn guessed.

“Yeah, I don’t know either”, Megan said. Just then they heard footsteps and saw Hope and Christen walking up.

“Damn”, Hope said, looking at Damon’s dead body. “Get anything out of him?” Hope asked.

“Something about the bomb that they sent for Ali and me was just a fire cracker and was really meant for me. Revenge for my Special Forces unit killing Jimmy Burke.”

“Jimmy Burke”, Megan said. “The IRA terrorist guy? The bomber?”

“Yeah, him”, Ashlyn said to Megan, then looked at Hope. “Rory and Jimmy are brothers.”

“You’re kidding me”, Hope said. “Jesus.” She was silent for a moment and then said, “What else?”

“Damon was babbling on about the Cause being bigger than me”, Ashlyn said.

“Okay…” Hope said, letting it hang. “That’s pretty cryptic.”

Everyone was silent for a moment, and then to lighten things up a bit Christen said, “I wonder how the game’s going.”

Ali smiled slightly. “I guess we could go back into Kelly’s and watch it, right?”

“Yeah, and it’d be free drinks. We had the unis haul everyone out, including the bartender”, Hope said, and everyone laughed, a slightly relieved laugh. Everyone but Megan.

“Wait”, Megan said, holding up her hand for the girls to be quiet. She was trying to put something together.

Hope looked over, taking in the fact that Megan, who loved to joke, wasn’t laughing along with them. “What is it, Pinoe?”

“The game…the game…” Megan said to herself. “Ashlyn - you said Damon told you Rory is at the game, right?”

“Yeah”, Ashlyn answered.

“And Damon said that the Cause is bigger than you, right?”

“Yeah”, Ashlyn answered again.

“Maybe he meant not ‘you’, as in ‘you: Ashlyn Harris’, but ‘you’, as in the general sense. Like, the Cause is bigger than one person, or even a small group of people.”

“Okay…” Hope said.

“And Damon also said that the bomb that was meant for you and Ali is like a firecracker, or something, right?” Megan asked.

“Yeah, he said, ‘The bomb we almost got you with was but a firecracker…’” Ali said.

Something was there, Megan thought. She could feel it. She was starting to connect the dots. The Cause is bigger than you…the bomb meant for Ali and Ashlyn was but a firecracker…Rory at the USA vs England game…”

Ali was thinking the same thing. She kept replaying those three thoughts over and over. She looked at Megan, and then she looked at Ashlyn, and then at Hope. Then she looked at Christen, who was looking at her phone.

“Oh fuck yeah!” Christen exclaimed. “USA just scored. One-nothing, girls!”

“What are you watching?” Ali asked.

“ESPN – they’re streaming the game live”, Christen said.

“Put that away, Press. We’re working right now”, Hope said.

“Sorry boss, just wanted to check the game. Oh cool! There’s fireworks!”

“Fireworks?” Ashlyn said. “For what?”

“For scoring, I guess”, Christen said. “Maybe every time a team scores, they light off fireworks. I mean, this is a big game, after all.”

“Fireworks…” Ali said, thinking.

“But a firework…” Ashlyn said, repeating what Damon had said.

“Big game…” Megan said.

“Bigger than you…” Hope said. She looked at Megan, who looked back at her, then at Ali, then at Ashlyn, and then at Christen, and in that moment Megan’s face turned white as the realization sent chills through her body.

“A bomb…” Megan said, her voice drifting off.

“What?” Hope said.

“Rory’s gonna set off a bomb at the game”, she said, almost to herself in a whisper.

“Oh my God”, Ali said, realization hitting her as well. “Pinoe’s right.”

“Wait, what the fuck-“ Hope said, but was cut off by Megan.

“C’mon guys!” Megan yelled, as she started to run for the car. “We gotta go, now!” She sprinted towards the car, and the rest of the team followed on her heels.


	14. Chapter 14

“Rory’s gonna set off a bomb at the game”, Megan said, as she, Hope, Ali, Ashlyn and Christen headed towards Soldier Field in Hope’s black Navigator. “It all adds up, what Damon said: Rory’s at the game, the bomb meant for Ashlyn was just a firecracker, and the Cause is bigger than just one or a few people.”

“She’s right”, Ashlyn said. “The Cause doctrine spews hatred against all Americans and all English. And if Rory and Jimmy were brothers, then Rory undoubtedly carried that ideology over to the New Ireland crew.”

“And what better way to make a statement against America and England than bombing a stadium full of 50,000 American and English fans?” Ali said.

“Yep”, Megan agreed. “This is a big game, and he’s going to set off a big bomb, probably one that dwarfs the bomb that had been meant for Ashlyn.”

“A bomb so big, it will make that one look like a firecracker”, Ashlyn said. “Christ”, she said through gritted teeth. “I’m gonna fuckin’ kill this guy.”

“That’s why all of those New Ireland guys in Kelly’s Pub were watching a USA vs England game”, Christen realized. “They didn’t care about the teams or the game itself – they were watching to see the bomb go off.”

“I’m gonna call it in”, Hope said to Megan. She reached for her phone as she hit the accelerator.

“No!” Megan yelled.

“We gotta let them know”, Hope said. “That bomb could go off any minute now.”

“No”, Megan said again. “If we alert the stadium and they start evacuating people and Rory is there, he’ll detonate the bomb as soon as he realizes something is up. We need to get there, come up with a quick plan, and then figure out a way to find the bomb and neutralize it and then get everyone out safely.”

“What? Are you gambling with people’s lives, Pinoe!?” Hope shouted, weaving in and out of traffic. “Thousands of people will die if that bomb goes off! We need to start evacuating people now!”

“People will die if Rory figures out something is wrong!” Megan countered. “Look – this is a huge opportunity for Rory to take out a shit ton of Americans and English. Maybe the best opportunity he’ll ever have. He’s not going to waste it. He’s going to wait for the most opportune moment to set that thing off. The game just started ten minutes ago. The stadium’s probably not even three quarters full yet. My guess is he’s going to wait until at least half time, when he’s sure the stadium is at its fullest. So that buys us a bit of time to get there and figure things out. But if we set off alarms now, Rory will set that thing off as soon as he sees any kind of commotion.”

“Anyone know what kind of halftime show they got planned?” Ali asked.

“That band Blackheart is playing”, said Christen, who was the biggest soccer fan and only Blackheart fan out of the group. “They’re from right here in Chicago. They’re like the hottest new band in the country right now. They’re going to bring a stage out to center field and let a bunch of fans onto the field for the performance.” 

“Jesus”, Ashlyn said. “Sounds like a recipe for a lot of dead bodies.”

Hope exhaled and then looked at Ali. “Your call, Krieger. Now that you’re back in the saddle, you’ve got the ball.”

Ali, sitting shotgun, looked at Hope, then back at Megan, and then at Ashlyn and Christen. “I think Megan is right. Hold off on calling in a bomb alert. Let’s get there and assess the situation out.”

“Fine”, Hope said, “but we’ll at least need a bomb expert there with us. Press – get Tobin and JJ on the line right now and tell them to get their asses to Soldier Field ASAP!” she barked, as Megan was already dialing for Alex.

   
********  
 

Ashlyn, Ali, Hope, Megan and Christen parked the car right outside the main gate and ran up to the ticket booth. Hope flashed her badge and told the ticket attendant to get the security manager, then they ran through the turnstyles and into the main entrance area. Tobin and Julie ran up a minute later, Alex thirty seconds after that.

“Hey, what’s going on?” Tobin asked. She looked at Hope, who looked at Megan.

“Rory Jameson is here. Long story short – we think he’s going to set off a bomb sometime during the game”, Megan said, and she ran Tobin, Alex and Julie through her thoughts on Rory’s connection to Jimmy Burke, why he came after Ashlyn, his connection to Carli, thoughts on Chen, and Rory’s possible motives for wanting to set off a bomb at this game.

“Yikes”, Julie said. “And Carli? Chen?”

“We think both of them are here”, Ali said. “Chen loves soccer, and this is the biggest match of the year. He sometimes rents a skybox through one of his front companies.” She paused and then said, “We think Carli is working with Rory.”

“What? Why?” Alex asked.

“Hope and I visited Terrell Jackson at Stateville earlier today”, Ashlyn said.”

“Wait – you went…with her?” Julie asked Hope, pointing at Ashlyn. “Jesus, boss.”

“Hey”, Hope said. “Sometimes to get shit done, you need to work around convention. If anything was going to make Terrell talk, I knew it was gonna be having Ashlyn there.”

“Wow”, Julie said, trying to envision that meeting. “Well, how’d it go?”

“It got a bit ugly”, Hope said, “but Terrell said that Carli supplied Rory with the assassin that tried to bomb Ashlyn and Ali.”

“Which means, they’re probably working together”, Megan said. “Maybe to squeeze out Chen.”

"Why would Rory want to get rid of Chen?" Julie asked. "Chen's one of his best customers."

"Maybe Carli offered to make up the loss of business, maybe buy exclusively from Rory", Hope offered, thinking about what Terrell had said: Why does anybody help anybody - to get something in return. 

Tobin, Alex and Julie all nodded, and then Alex said, “so Carli supplies Rory with an assassin…it’s possible that in return Rory then helps Carli set up Chen. Rory sets up Chen for an ambush, possibly under the pretense of an arms deal. Carli kills Chen, she gets rid of her main competition, and if the assassin hadn’t failed, then Rory would have gotten revenge for the death of his brother.”

“Exactly”, Hope said. “Thankfully, that part didn’t happen”, she said, looking at Ashlyn and Ali.

“Plus” Ali said, “If Rory detonates a bomb, he will make a big statement for The Cause, by blowing up a stadium full of Americans and English fans.”

“I hate this fucking Cause”, Ashlyn seethed through gritted teeth.

“What an ‘explosive’ game this is going to be”, Megan said dryly, trying to lift the mood just a bit.

“Not funny right now”, Hope said and shot her a look.

“Sorry”, Megan said. “Anyway, my guess is that Carli is going to use the bomb detonation as a distraction-

“-and Carli’s people could attack Chen and his crew in the chaos”, Tobin finished.

“Exactly”, Ali said.

“Okay, so what’s the plan?” Alex asked.

“Well, we don’t want to raise alarm”, Ali said. “If we do, Rory may detonate the bomb right away, so we need to be discreet right now.” She looked at Tobin. “Call HQ. Tell them what’s happening, and tell them to quietly send Jarvis and the SWAT bomb squad down here. In the meantime, while you wait for them, find this bomb.”

“Got it”, Tobin said.

Ali looked at Christen. “Press – go with Tobin. I don’t want anyone working alone today.” Christen nodded. Ali looked at Megan and Alex. “Find Chen. I’m sure he’s here, and he’s probably in a skybox. Find out what box he’s in and then let us know.” Then Ali looked at Hope, just as the security manager was walking up. “Brief the security manager, and then you and JJ find Carli. Keep us posted. Everyone”, Ali addressed the group, “keep your radios on channel two.” Then Ali looked at her wife. “We’re going after Rory. Let’s find the asshole that tried to kill our baby.”


	15. Chapter 15

“Ahhh…Rory, welcome!” Mike Chen said as his security escorted Rory into the skybox that he had rented through one of his front companies. “Please have a seat”, Chen said and motioned to a plush chair next to his own.

“Thank you, Mr. Chen”, Rory said. He motioned to his security detail to wait outside the skybox door. “Shall we get down to business now or later?” he asked, taking a seat. “We have the merchandise in a parking lot down the block.”

Chen laughed easily. “No hurry, Rory. Let’s enjoy the game. We can conduct business later. Unless you are in a hurry?”

Rory laughed easily back. “No, not at all. And I meant no offense, Mr. Chen”, Rory said, knowing that the Chinese descendant was often sensitive to following the Chinese tradition of not rushing thought business transactions.

“None taken, Rory”, Chen said lightly, pouring Rory a drink. “So, do you follow soccer?”

“Not regularly”, Rory said. “This particular game is of interest to me, though.”

“Ah…is that so?” Chen asked. “I would have figured that Americans vs English would hold no interest to a staunch Irish separatist such as yourself.”

Rory looked at Chen. Sometimes he could be such a know-it-all, Rory thought. His smugness irked Rory, and Rory’s gut clenched on the inside. Well, Chen wouldn’t be around much longer, Rory thought. He had been a good customer, but with Carli’s agreement to buy exclusively from New Ireland, he would be compensated for the loss of Chen’s business. In truth, Carli often annoyed Rory as well, with her penchant for theatrical flair, but she was able to supply Rory with an assassin to kill Harris, so their business pact had been sealed. True, the first attempt had failed, which had upset Rory greatly, but Carli had told Rory that Wu would be here tonight, and after the bombing, when Harris and Krieger were done sifting through the rubble of what used to be Soldier Field, Wu would follow them home and then take them out. Rory smiled to himself, thinking about that, and then thinking about the bomb going off. He had smuggled it into the stadium via some contacts in the union, who had delivered the stage for the halftime concert. The bomb would go off at the beginning of the performance, decimating everything from center field through the mezzanine level. The skyboxes would be safe from the explosion, so Rory could watch the bomb actually detonate from his plush seat. Then, Carli’s crew would come into Chen’s skybox, and along with his own crew, they would riddle Chen and his men with bullets. Then he and Carli and their crews could escape during the mass chaos following the explosion. Rory continued to smile on the inside as he thought about the victory just ahead: His brother’s killer, dead. Her Johnny Law wife, dead. Their unborn child, dead. And thousands of dead Americans and English, lying on the field of a ruined stadium.

Rory smiled on the outside and turned to Chen. “It should be an explosive game”, he said, then picked up his drink and clinked glasses with Chen. “Slainte”, he said, then took a long drink.  
 

********  
 

Tobin and Christen walked along the mezzanine level, scanning the concession stands and the field. Christen looked at the game clock. “Ten minutes to halftime”, she said.

“Anything going on for the halftime show?” Tobin asked.

“Yeah, that band Blackheart, from Chicago, is playing. They’re wheeling a stage out to center field and letting a bunch of fans onto the field for the performance.” Christen looked around the field. “Looks like they’re starting to get the stage ready”, she said, pointing down to the edge of the field, near the walkways to the locker rooms.

Tobin looked down at the stage. It was forty feet wide by twenty feet deep and maybe four feet high. Covering the stage was a black drape cloth, almost like a giant tablecloth. Tobin watched as stagehands set up the instruments, amplifiers and sound system, and as she watched the setup, she saw a stagehand crawl out from under the stage, and in that moment her blood froze.

“Press”, she hissed, and Christen turned towards her. “The bomb is under the stage.”

“What!?” Christen said, even though she had heard correctly, but Tobin was off and running.

   
********  
 

“Hope! Ali!” Tobin yelled into her radio.

“Copy”, Hope said.

“Copy”, Ali said.

“I think the bomb is under the stage”, Tobin said.

“Shit”, Hope cursed.

“Where is the stage?” Ali asked.

“Down by the edge of the field, southeast corner, near the walkway to the locker rooms”, Tobin said. “Press and I are almost there.”

“Okay”, Hope said. “Where’s the SWAT bomb squad?”

“En route, they should be here in three minutes.”

“Okay”, Hope said, “We need to get everyone out, now.”

“No!” Ali yelled. “Not yet. If we do that, Rory will know something is up, and he’ll detonate the bomb right away.”

“Ali, thousands of fans are going to be on that field at halftime!” Hope yelled back.

“He won’t detonate the bomb until all of the fans are on the field”, Ali said. “He wants maximum impact. There’s five minutes to halftime. Then it will take them another two minutes to wheel the stage out onto center field, and then another five minutes to get the fans and the band out there. The bomb squad should be here in three minutes. That gives us at least twelve minutes. That’s provided that there’s even a bomb here and that it’s under the stage.”

“If it’s here, then it’s under the stage. I can feel it”, Tobin said confidently, as she and Christen reached the stage. “We’re at the stage”, Tobin said. “I’m gonna check it out.”

“Alright”, Ali said. “Keep us posted.”

“And Tobin”, Hope said. “You and Press – be careful.”

   
********  
 

“So, there they are”, Carli said, looking at a text she had just received from one of Rory’s security team. Carli and her crew were in a van in the loading dock area of Soldier Field, below the stadium. “Box E.” She looked at her crew, all dressed as stadium security, then looked at her watch. “Fifteen minutes to detonation”, she said. Rory had finally let her in on the plan. A bomb. A big one. Big enough to destroy the entire field and everything up through the mezzanine level. “Let’s get moving. I want to be in the upper level near the skyboxes in ten minutes, so we’re out of blast range when the bomb goes off. Once that thing detonates, we kick in the door to Chen’s box and shoot anything that doesn’t look Irish”, she said with another smile. Then she looked at Wu, who was dressed as a concession stand worker. “And you – stick close to me”, she said, and Wu nodded.  
 

********  
 

“Ali, Hope, come in”, Megan said through her radio.

“Copy”, Ali said.

“I just talked with the ticket manager. Chen is in skybox E”, Megan said. “You were right - he rented it through one of his front companies.”

“Copy that, Pinoe”, Ali said. “Hope.”

“Copy”, Hope said.

“Any sign of Carli?” Ali asked.

“Not yet”, Hope said. “Any sign of Rory?”

“Nope”, Ali said, “but he may be in the skybox with Chen. We’re on the mezzanine level, east side of the field. We’re heading up to the skybox level now.”

“Copy that, we’re on the southwest side, lower level. We’re further away, but heading up there now as well”, Hope said.

“Let’s meet at the top of the north stairwell on the skybox level”, Ali said. “Pinoe?”

“Copy that”, Megan said. “We’re leaving the ticketing office now.”

“And guys”, Ali said, “Make it fast. Halftime is in three minutes.”  
   
   
********  
 

Tobin and Christen reached the stage. They flashed their badges and Tobin briefed the stage manager on what was happening.

“Bomb squad’s here”, Christen said a moment later.

Tobin turned around. “Jarvis”, she said. Thanks for coming.”

“Nutmeg”, Jarvis said, as he walked up to Tobin and shook her hand. Jarvis was the SWAT team bomb squad leader. Tobin had briefly served on Jarvis’ squad after serving in the army and before joining Hope’s strike team. Tobin introduced Christen and then gave Jarvis and his team a brief rundown, then radioed in Hope and Ali.

“Bomb squad is here. Jarvis and I need to get under the stage and check it out”, Tobin informed Ali and Hope.

“Halftime is in two minutes”, Hope said. “They’ll be rolling out the stage right after the players leave the field.”

“Then we’ll have to move fast. I’ll get back in a few minutes. Over”, Tobin said. She signed off the radio and then looked at Christen. “Press – we’re good here. Go help Hope and JJ.” Christen nodded and ran off. Then Tobin looked at Jarvis and the duffel bag he was carrying. “Alright", she said, turning her baseball cap around backwards, "bring the goody bag and let’s get to work”, then she and Jarvis ducked under the stage.

   
********  
 

Ashlyn and Ali reached the top of the stairs on the north side of the skybox level. They stood for a moment, catching their breath, and then saw Megan and Alex rounding the corner, holding hands, faces close, smiling.

“What’s going on here?” Ali asked, confused as to what she was seeing.

“We came from the other side, so he had to walk past box E. Since we had to walk by, we figured we’d scope it out, but we didn’t want to rouse any suspicion, so…”

“You ran the 'harmless lovers' act. Nice one”, Ali said. “So what’s it look like?”

“Chen’s got two men outside the doorway to the box. Don’t know how many are inside. There are four New Ireland men outside, so Rory is probably in the box with Chen”, Alex said.

“Where are Hope and JJ”? Megan asked.

“They’re not here yet, but they’re further away”, Ali said.

“So what’s the plan?” Ashlyn asked her wife, then without waiting for an answer said, “Tell you what. You send me in there with a gun, I’ll have that place a graveyard in fifteen seconds, and then I’ll drag Rory Jameson out and strangle him with my bare hands. How’s that sound?”

Ali looked at Ashlyn and smiled slightly. “No, hon. Tempting, but we’re gonna wait here for Hope and JJ.”

“Damn”, Ashlyn pouted. “But I get first crack at that asshole”, she said, and Ali just smiled slightly and shook her head.


	16. Chapter 16

“Found it!” Tobin yelled.

“Let’s see”, Jarvis said, crawling over to Tobin. He looked over to where Tobin was shining her flashlight, and there it was: a metallic silver bullet-shaped casing about a foot and a half long, attached to the underside of the stage. A digital timer was counting down. There were six minutes left. “Whoa”, he said.

“Yeah. Looks like adamantium casing”, Tobin said, running the light from her flashlight along the length of the bomb. “No way to get inside.” She continued to shine her light some more. “RDX core, IC8 compound: Irish made explosive, kind of like C4, but way more kick. Time lock trigger for detonation. This thing will level the entire field and everything up through the mezzanine.”

“Shit”, Jarvis cursed. “Can we move it? There’s six minutes left on the timer. We could just grab it, put it in the duffel and get out before they move the stage. We’ve got a bomb shell in the SWAT van. We can dump it in there in four minutes.”

“No can do”, Tobin said. “There’s a pressure sensor here”, Tobin said, pointing to where the bomb was attached to the underside of the stage. “If we move the bomb we’ll activate the sensor, and the bomb will detonate.”

“Dammit”, Jarvis cursed again.

“Do you have liquid nitrogen?” Tobin asked.

“Yeah, that and smother spray.”

“What?”

“Smother spray”, Jarvis said. “It’s new. It’s a fiberglass/polymer compound. Basically you spray it on the bomb, and it hardens, acting kind of like a blast blanket.” Jarvis looked at Tobin. “It won’t kill the blast, but it will suppress its range.”

“Okay”, Tobin said. “You spray the bomb with that, and then I’m going to apply liquid nitrogen to the timer. That should freeze the clock – no pun intended – and buy us some more time.”

“Got it”, Jarvis said. He was about to hand Tobin the smother spray when he heard the whistle blow. “Shit, he said. “Halftime.”

“Dammit”, Tobin said. She looked at the timer. Five minutes and counting down. “We’re going to have to stay under here and work and move with the stage, while they wheel it out to center field.”

“Great”, Jarvis said sarcastically, handing Tobin the smother spray.

   
********  
 

“So, what did you think of the first half?” Chen asked Rory.

“It was fine”, Rory answered, as he watched the stagehands wheel the stage onto the field. He smiled in anticipation.

“Fine?” Chen repeated. “Just fine?”

“Well, it’s only one-nil”, Rory said. “I prefer games with a higher…count.” He was going to say “body count” to be clever, but then he remembered Carli getting pissed off when he had tried to be clever by sending Harris the bottle of Jameson and the card, so he held his tongue.

“Well, for someone who doesn’t seem so enthusiastic about the game, you do seem pretty excited right now”, Chen said.

“I’m looking forward to the halftime show”, Rory said, with a smile. “I’m a fan of the band.”

“Really?” Chen said, surprised. “Blackheart, right? I’m surprised. I wouldn’t have pegged you for a fan.”

Rory stared at Chen for a moment and then looked out onto the field. He could see the fans starting to pour out onto the field and crowd around the stage. Three minutes to detonation. Rory turned back to Chen and smiled. “Well, they are the number one band in the country right now, right? They’re…on fire.” Chen smiled back, and then Rory said, “They are…how do Americans like to say…’the bomb’.”

   
********  
 

Carli and her team reached the top of the south stairwell on the skybox level. She sent Wu to scout and then looked at her watch: two minutes to detonation. She looked out at the field. The stage was surrounded with fans, and the band was being ushered out on golf carts, waiving to the crowd. “Alright”, she said, addressing her crew. “Box E is five boxes down that way”, she said, pointing down the walkway. “We can’t get much closer to the box without attracting attention, so we wait here for now”. Carli looked at Wu as the assassin hurried back. “How many of Chen’s guards are outside?” Wu held up two fingers, and Carli smiled. “Piece of cake”, she said. She checked her weapon and then said, “Touchdown in ninety seconds. Once the bomb goes off, we rush the box, take out Chen’s two guards on the outside, kick down the door, and then it’s open season on anything with black hair and slanted eyes. Got it?”  
 

********  
   
“Where the fuck is Hope?” Megan growled.

Ali got on her radio. “Hope!”

“Copy”, Hope said.

“Where are you?”

“We’re coming. We got caught in a mob of people heading for the concession stands and the bathroom. We’ll be there as soon as we can.”

“Alright, hustle”, Ali said. She signed off with Hope and then tried to reach Tobin, but all she got was static. “Shit”, she said.

“What’s up?” Ashlyn asked.

“I can’t get Tobin”, Ali said. She tried again but got more static. The she tried Christen.

“Copy”, Christen said.

“Where are you?” Ali asked.

“In a sea of people, on the first level.”

“We’re on the skybox level. We’re about to rush the box. How’s Tobin doing?”

“When I left her she was about to go under the stage with Jarvis to look for the bomb.”

“I can’t get a hold of her”, Ali said.

“Shit”, Christen said.

“Just get up her quick, Press.”

“Copy that.”

Ali signed off with Christen and then put away her radio and said to the group, “Alright, I can’t reach Tobin, so we'll just have to hope she's okay.” Then she unholstered her gun and said, “When Press, Hope and JJ get here, we’re going to the box.”

   
********  
   
“Okay, we’re done”, Tobin said to Jarvis. It had been a pain in the ass to spray the bomb and apply the liquid nitrogen to the timer while moving along with the stage, underneath it, as it was being rolled out onto the field, but they had pulled it off. She handed the liquid nitrogen back to Jarvis. The stage was now stationary, and she could hear the band walking up onto it. The noise level from the fans was deafening. “I slowed down the timer to give us a couple minutes. Now, the timer is reading ninety seconds to detonation, but even if someone manually tried to set off the bomb right now we would still have a couple minutes. How much blast reduction will the smother spray give us?”

“About half”, Jarvis said.

“So as long as we can get everyone off of the actual field itself and at least into the stands in like two minutes, we should be okay?”

“Yeah, in theory”, Jarvis said. “I mean, you’re gonna feel the blast anywhere you are in this stadium. You just won’t be incinerated, as long as you’re off the field", he said, crossing his fingers. “But, I wouldn’t want to be anywhere in the first twenty rows or so. You won’t fry, but the force of the blast will toss you.”

“Alright, got it”, Tobin said. “Let me call Hope and Ali”, She picked up her radio. “Hope come in”, she said, but all she got was static. “Ali come in”, she tried. “Shit!” she cursed. “I can’t get through. Probably because we’re under this damn stage.”

“And I can’t hear a thing anyway, with this crowd going nuts”, Jarvis said.

Tobin looked at him, and then looked up. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Alright – you ready to do this?”

“I’m following your lead”, Jarvis said.

Tobin smiled slightly at him, then took one last deep breath, drew her gun and crawled out from under the stage. “Police! Everybody run!” she shouted, waving her hands. People stared at her, bewildered. The band stopped tuning up.

Jarvis crawled out a second later. “Go! Let’s move!” he yelled. Some people started to move back, but most people stared. He looked over at Tobin, and Tobin looked back. She stared at him for a second and then nodded, and then she aimed her gun straight up in the air and fired, with Jarvis following suit.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

That got people’s attention. People started screaming and running for the gate where they had been let onto the field. The band jumped off the stage and hightailed it towards the locker room walkway, and Tobin and Jarvis kept yelling as thousands of fans ran for their lives.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter, some of the action happens simultaneously.

“Was that fucking gunfire?” Carli asked to no one. She looked down onto the field and saw a man and a woman with guns drawn and thousands of fans running off of the field. She stood there for a moment, her mind processing quickly, as she took another look at the field. Cops. The man looked like bomb squad. The woman looked like…Tobin Heath, one of Solo’s bimbos. Carli cursed. That meant Solo was here. Probably Krieger as well. Maybe the whole fucking Johnny Law crew. Fucking Krieger and Solo: the two biggest pains in the ass when it came to running a criminal enterprise. Somehow they had figured it out. Chaos was drawing chaos, and now fans in the stands were starting to empty their seats. Carli continued to look at the field, then looked at the stands, and in that moment made a quick decision. She had to do this now. True, the cops were here, but Chen was here. She may not get another setup like this again. She looked again at the frantic crowd and smiled faintly. The distraction may not have gone how Rory had planned, but for Carli, any distraction would work. She looked down the walkway towards box E. She couldn’t see it but she was pretty sure that Rory and Chen knew something was up. She checked her gun one last time, then looked at her crew and yelled, “Let’s fucking do this!”

   
********  
 

Something was wrong. Rory looked down onto the field. That was gunfire he had just heard. Fans were screaming and running. A man and a woman were on the field, waiving guns in the air, yelling at people. It appeared as though they were directing everyone off of the field. They looked like cops. People in the stands were starting to move as well.

“What the hell is going on down there!?” Chen yelled as he stood up from his seat. He stared at the field for a moment, and then looked at Rory.  
Rory looked back at Chen for a moment, raised his hands as if to say “I don’t know”, then pulled out his phone, speed dialed the number to his bomb technician who was waiting near the gate where the fans had entered the field and yelled, “Blow it! Blow it now!”

Chen stared at Rory. “What!?” When Rory didn’t answer, Chen said, “You…what the fuck are you doing!?”

Rory looked at him for a second and then looked towards the door. “Slainte!” he yelled, and a second later he heard gunshots outside the door.

“You…you fucking set me up!” Chen raged. He grabbed Rory and the two men wrestled for a second, then Chen got the upper hand. He pinned Rory down and was about to throw a punch when the door to the box blew open, and Carli’s and Rory’s crews busted in, guns blazing.

   
********  
 

“What the hell?” Megan said, looking over to the field where she thought she had just heard gunfire.

“That’s gunfire”, Ashlyn affirmed what Megan had heard.

“Alright guys, let’s move!” Ali said. She rounded the corner with her gun leading the way. Ashlyn, Megan and Alex followed. She saw people emptying out of the skyboxes, screaming in panic. Then she heard more gunfire. They got closer to skybox E, and Ali saw Carli, Rory, and seven Rose Syndicate and New Ireland members exit the box in a hurry. There was an Asian woman with them as well.

“Rory! Carli!” Ali yelled.

Carli and Rory turned around to see Ali, Ashlyn, Megan and Alex, and in that moment, Ashlyn locked eyes with Wu Haiyan.

“Split up!” Carli yelled. She, Wu and the five Rose Syndicate members continued down the skybox level corridor while Rory and the two remaining members of his security detail turned right and went down the east stairwell.

Ali, Ashlyn, Alex and Megan rushed into the box. “Jesus”, Ali said. Chen was dead. He had been riddled with bullets. So too was Chao Han. Six other members of The Black Dragon Society laid dead, as well as two members of New Ireland, and a member of The Rose Syndicate. Ali stared at the mess for another moment and then yelled, “Let’s go!” and they ran out of the box. “Pinoe! Alex! Get after Carli!” Ali yelled, then turned to her wife. “Ash – we’re going after Rory!” she said, but Ashlyn was already running in the direction that Carli had gone. She’s going after the assassin, Ali thought. “Ash, wait!” Ali called out after her, but her wife was already in motion. “Shit!” Ali swore. Then she turned to Megan and Alex. “Change of plans – get after Rory!” she yelled and they nodded and headed down the east stairwell after him. God damn it, Ashlyn, Ali thought, as she ran after her wife.


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More simultaneous action.

“Alright, that’s almost everybody!” Tobin yelled to Jarvis. They were at the edge of the field, at the gate that lead on and off the field. She looked up into the stands, which had pretty much cleared out, at least up through the mezzanine. 

“How much time you think we got left?” Jarvis asked as he ushered the last people through the gate. “Get out of the stadium!” he yelled after them.

“Like, anytime now!” Tobin yelled. “Go! Get your ass outta here!” she yelled to Jarvis, who nodded and then sprinted through the gate. Tobin was about to go through herself when she spotted a man also on edge of the field, about forty feet away, who looked to be fiddling angrily with his cell phone. “Hey, you!” Tobin yelled. The man didn’t respond. She ran towards the man. “Hey, let’s GO!” she yelled, and as she got closer, her gut screamed an alarm. There was only one reason someone would be just standing around right now fiddling with a cell phone when everyone else was running for their lives. This was a bomb technician.

“Hey! Freeze!” Tobin screamed as she ran towards him. She went to raise her gun, but all of a sudden the man looked up. A gun materialized in his hand and suddenly it was pointed at Tobin. “Holy SHI-“ Tobin started to scream and raised her hands, but before she could get the rest out, a thunderous blast rocked her world and sent her flying sideways through the air.

   
********

   
“I see Rory!” Megan shouted. She and Alex were on the second level walkway, fighting through crowds of terrified people who were trying to exit the stadium. “He and two bodyguards are up ahead, maybe fifty feet!”

“I see them”, Alex replied, moving as fast as she could through the mob of people. “Police! Move!” she yelled, shoving people aside. “Get out of the way!” She and Megan hit a clear patch and ran full-tilt, gaining about thirty feet, Alex in the lead. “I’m in range for a shot!” Alex yelled to Megan.

“Rory Jameson!” Megan yelled.

Rory whirled around and saw Alex and Megan coming up fast. “Shite!” he swore. “Shoot them!” he commanded his security detail. The two men whirled around and opened fire. Bullets sprayed as people ducked and ran for their lives. Rory kept running.

“Shit!” Megan said as she stepped behind a pillar. “Wait, Morgan – no!” she yelled, but Alex was plowing ahead. “God damn it, Morgan– don’t be a fucking hero!”

Alex raised her weapon and fired, squeezing off eight rounds. Five missed, but three found a home. One New Ireland member went down. Alex plowed ahead, but the other member kept firing, and one of his bullets found a home as well. It hit Alex in the right shoulder. She moved behind a pillar and slumped down.

“Fuck!” she yelled, grabbing her shoulder.

“Noooo!” Megan yelled. She moved from behind her pillar and squeezed off rounds, screaming. The New Ireland member who had shot Alex was still trying to finish her off, shooting the pillar she was behind, and as his attention was focused on Alex, two of Megan’s bullets hit him square in the head. He fell like a sack of potatoes, and then Megan ran over to Alex. “Morgan!” she yelled as she kneeled down.

“Fuck!” Alex cursed, putting her hand against her wounded shoulder.

“Jesus”, Megan said. Blood was gushing out of Alex’s shoulder. Megan took off her jacket, then ripped off some of her shirt. She pressed the fabric against Alex’s wound, and Alex screamed. “You’re hit bad”, she said to her partner.

“I’ll be alright”, Alex said through gritted teeth.

Megan got on the radio. “Morgan’s been hit! I repeat, Morgan’s been hit! We’re on the second level near Section B. Come in!” No on responded. “Shit!” Megan said.

They rested for a few moments and then Megan said, “Alright, c’mon. Let’s get you up and get outta here.” She draped the arm attached to Alex’s good shoulder around her own neck and went to help Alex up, and they got about three quarters of the way up, when a gigantic explosion rocked the stadium and sent them falling back to the ground, Megan screaming for Alex, and Alex screaming as she clutched her wounded shoulder.

   
********  
 

“Ashlyn!” Ali yelled, as she ran down the walkway after her wife. She was sprinting full tilt, and as she rounded a corner, she collided into the back of her wife, who was standing still. She was facing down the walkway, away from Ali, and as Ali looked up, she saw Carli, five of her crew, and the Asian delivery driver from the other night. The assassin. Ali collected herself as quickly as she could after colliding with Ashlyn, raised her weapon and said, “Freeze!” pointing her gun at Carli. Carli’s crew hoisted their weapons, and Wu drew two jian short blades.

“Well, well, well”, Carli began theatrically. “The lucky couple, and their lucky unborn baby. That car bomb really should have gotten all y’all”, she said as she smiled and patted Wu on the back. Then she added, “Not sure how you got outta that one.” She looked at Ashlyn and said, “I’m impressed. I don’t know what kind of ‘danger sensory training’ they teach you in the Special Forces, or what kind of Fast-And-Furious driving school they put you through, but, well, all I can say is, ‘Way to go, Tex’.”

“Freeze!” Ali yelled again, shifting her gun between the six villains in front of her.

“Really, Special Agent Krieger?” Carli laughed. “I think you’re a little outnumbered right now, don’t you?”

“You’re under arrest, Carli Rose”, Ali said in standard law enforcement tone.

“Well, then you’d better take me in”, Carli said, sarcastically, and held her hands out, indicating she was ready to be handcuffed. Then she pulled them back and said, “Actually, I have a better idea. We’re gonna shoot you, and your wife, and then maybe I’ll empty the rest of my cartridge into your stomach for little baby Krieger-Harris.”

“Fuck you, Carli!” Ashlyn said, her anger boiling over. She balled her fists as Carli mocked her with a theatrical bow.

“No.” Wu said, staring right at Ashlyn.

Carli looked over at her. “What was that, Wu?”

“No”, Wu repeated herself.

“What do you mean, ‘no’?” Carli asked.

“I will kill them.”

Carli looked at Wu for a moment. “Wu…” she prompted.

“I failed before”, Wu said. “I will not fail again.”

Carli stared at Wu for a moment and then broke into a smile. “Ahhhh…the honor of a Chinese assassin. I love it!” Carli squealed, then turned to Ashlyn and Ali. “Who says they don’t make quality shit in China.” Then she turned back to Wu. “Well, if you insist”, she said to the assassin. Carli looked at Ashlyn and Ali. “Looks like my associate is going to finish the job she started. So”, she motioned to her crew”, “we’re going to get moving. G.I. Joe Harris, Special Agent Krieger, Krieger-Harris tyke”, Carli said, motioning to Ashlyn, Ali and then Ali’s stomach with her hand, “this is probably goodbye. But if you somehow happen to make it past Wu, then, well…shoot you later!” Carli said with a smile, then pointed her finger in Ashlyn and Ali’s direction and made a mocking shooting gesture, followed by blowing on the tip of her finger. Then she and her crew backed down the walkway, leaving Wu between them and Ashlyn and Ali. Wu stared at the couple and then started slowly walking in their direction, staring straight at Ashlyn.

“Freeze!” Ali said, training her gun on Wu.

“Ali, I got this”, Ashlyn said, taking a side stance and putting her hands out in front of her, preparing for combat.

“No, Ash”, Ali said. Wu was less than twenty feet away. “I said freeze!” Ali yelled at Wu. Wu kept walking. Then Ali heard Megan’s voice come over her radio. “Oh my God”, Ali said. “Morgan’s been hit.”

“Go to them”, Ashlyn said to Ali, not taking her eyes off Wu.

“No! I’m not going to leave you here”, Ali said.

“Babe!” Ashlyn yelled. “I’m the reason this all happened to us. Me and my past. That’s why they came for us”, she said. She stared at Wu who was only a dozen feet away and closing, and then she took her eyes off of Wu and looked at Ali. “Go find Pinoe and Morgan. I got this”, she said. The she planted a quick kiss on her wife’s lips, and right as she did, a thunderous explosion rocked the stadium.

   
********  
 

“Finally!” Hope said, as she and Julie made their way up to the top of the stairs to the skybox level. The walkway was mostly clear, the last remaining fans scurrying down the stairs.

“Where is everyone?” Julie asked, looking around.

“I don’t know”, Hope said. She started walking, when she heard her radio crackle. It was Megan. Alex had been hit.

“Goddammit!” Hope cursed. She reached for her radio and was about to respond when they rounded a corner and froze.

Heading in their direction was Carli Rose and five Rose Syndicate members. Hope and Julie raised their weapons just as Carli saw them. Carli and her crew stopped running about fifteen feet from Hope and Julie, and Carli’s crew raised their weapons.

“Freeze!” Hope yelled. She and Julie were shifting their weapons between the six Rose Syndicate members.

“Ha!” Carli exclaimed, throwing up her hands in mock surrender. “You’re like the second Johnny Law bimbo that’s said that to me today. The first one’s probably on her way to becoming chop suey right now, along with her wife and unborn kid." She flashed a smile at Hope and then looked at Julie. “And who’s this, Solo?” she said as she looked Julie over. “New cherry on the team? Damn…look at the legs on this one”, she said, licking her lips and winking at Julie.

“Carli Lloyd Rose”, Hope said.

“Oooooooo, my full name”, Carli said, dramatically. “My momma used to call me by my full name when I was in trouble, which happened a lot, if you can believe that. Then she’d light the stove burner and hold my hand over it, the stove that she never made me a meal on. A little ‘old school discipline’, she used to say.”

“Well, you’re in trouble now, Carli”, Hope said.

“Like I was the only one being bad back then”, Carli continued on her story. “My momma was fucking taking it in the ass for money in the bedroom of our shithole apartment and snorting speedballs off of guys’ cocks!” Carli shouted out the story. “Mother of the year! Fucking bitch”, Carli spat.

“You’re a fucking lunatic, you know that, Carli?” Hope said, genuinely dismayed. 

“And y’all wonder why some kids end up troubled adults”, Carli said dramatically. Then she raised her arms and smiled. “I’m just the product of another happy home.”

“You can tell your sob story to the prison shrink”, Hope shot back. “Now lower your weapons and put your hands in the air!”

Carli laughed. How come everyone in law enforcement sucked at math? she thought. “I guess they don’t teach you how to count at the police academy, huh? See, you’ve got two weapons pointed at us. We’ve got five weapons pointed at you. Plus, I’ve got one tooooooo”, Carli said as she drew her gun.

“I said put down your weapons and put your hands in the air”, Hope repeated.

“Uh, let me think about that”, Carli said, making a dramatic show of thinking. “Nope. Not gonna happen.” She smiled for a moment, and then her smile dropped. “Now put your fucking guns down, or we’re gonna light your asses up, bitches!” Carli screamed, all of her humor gone.

Julie looked at Hope. Hope, calculating that there’s no way they would win if it came to open fire, looked back at Julie and nodded slightly. She lowered her gun to the ground, and Julie did the same.

“Alright!” Carli yelled in victory and threw a fist in the air. “So, what do you guys think?” she asked her crew. “Take ‘em hostage? Maybe Miss Hot Legs over here”, Carli said, pointing at Julie, “can snort speedballs off of your guys cocks, just like my momma used to do.” Mean laughter erupted from Carli’s crew.

“God, you’re sick!” Julie spat at Carli.

“Oooooo, she talks!” Carli jested, addressing Hope. “Cute voice too. Anyway”, Carli continued, looking back at Julie, “maybe you can do some jaw gymnastics on my boys, while I have my way with Detective Solo”, she said, winking at Hope. “Whaddaya think, Solo? Wanna sink your tongue into my pink?” Carli asked, lewdly rubbing her crotch.

“You’re fucking deranged, Carli”, Hope said. “I mean, seriously, you need help.”

“Awwww…that’s so sweeeeeet”, Cali said in a sugary voice. “You really care about me? Care about my well-being?” Carli stared at Hope for a moment and then laughed. “You know what your problem is, Solo? You’re too serious all the time. Always got this bitch-face thing going on. You need to loosen up a bit, get more fun out of life", she said and then did a theatrical pirouette. “You know what?" Carli continued, making an exaggerated show of thinking. "Actually, I changed my mind", she said. She looked at her crew and said, “No hostages. Let’s fucking waste these two bitches.”

“Hope”, Julie whispered.

“It’s alright, JJ, she’s just fucking with us”, Hope said, hoping her words were correct. She didn’t want Julie to die under her command.

“So”, Carli said, “Here’s what’s up. We’re going to count down from five. When we get to zero, we’re gonna start blowing holes in your bodies. Sound good?” she said with a smile. “Now, close your eyes, ladies.”

“Carli, listen-“ Hope began.

“Shut up! Don’t ruin my game!” Carli raged. “If you don’t close your eyes, I’m gonna shoot Little Miss Hot Legs in the fucking kneecaps!”

“Shit”, Hope said. “Fine, Carli, you win.” She closed her eyes to appease Carli, trying to buy some time. She knew Carli liked to talk. Maybe she could keep Carli talking until someone showed up.

Julie closed her eyes as well, and then she and Hope heard Carli laugh.

“I wish you guys could see yourselves right now: standing there, eyes, closed, about to die”, Carli squealed in delight. “Alright boys, ready to play? Five…four…three…two…o-“

BANG BANG BANG BANG

Hope and Julie heard four shots ring out. None of them hit either one of them. “What the fuck?” They heard Carli say, and they opened their eyes. Carli was still standing, as was her security head, Brian. Her other four men were down.

Coming up behind Hope and Julie was Christen. She had arrived up the stairwell a minute before and had heard talking and shouting. As she had crept closer she could discern Hope’s, Julie’s and Carli’s voices. Then she had heard Carli talking about shooting Hope and Julie, Carli counting down, and at the last moment Christen had rounded the corner and squeezed off four shots in just over a second. She would have squeezed off more and taken out Carli and the other guy too, but she had emptied her clip. She kept the gun trained on Carli anyway. Maybe Carli would still think she had rounds left.

“Freeze!” she yelled. Then to Hope and Julie, “You guys okay?”

“Well, fuck me sideways”, Carli said, looking at Christen. “Detective Press, and her lips!” She looked at Hope and said, “I gotta hand it to you, Solo – you sure know how to pick ‘em.” Then she looked at Brian, who still had his weapon at the ready, and she then looked at Christen. “This is like a Mexican standoff…but none of us are Mexican!” she said, then laughed.

“You’re fucking nuts”, Christen said.

“Yup, I am”, Carli said proudly. 

“Put down the gun”, Hope addressed Brian, then turned to Carli. “It’s over, Carli.”

Carli looked at Hope for a moment, then looked at Julie, and then looked at Christen. “You know what? I just realized something. I bet Hot Lips is out of bullets. Otherwise she would’ve shot us too.” She looked at Brian and said, “Enough fucking around. Let’s light these bitches up!” and went to raise her own gun when a gigantic explosion rocked the stadium.


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More simlutaneous action...

Wu dropped her swords and stopped walking. Ali jumped. Ashlyn started and looked around.

The whole middle of the stadium was caved in to a crater. The grass everywhere was scorched, even to the edge of the field.

“Holy shit”, Ali whispered. She stood there, shocked for a moment, and then thought: Tobin…

Ashlyn looked for another moment, then turned her attention back on Wu. Wu had gathered herself and was resuming her walk. She had foregone her swords, but she was coming closer, her eyes fixed on Ashlyn. Ashlyn readied herself, and then gave Ali one last quick kiss, then said, “I love you, babe. Now find Morgan and Pinoe. Find Tobin. GO!!!”

Ali looked at Ashlyn, looked at Wu, and then looked at Ashlyn. “I love you, Ash” she said, and then ran off.

   
********  
 

“Holy shit!” Megan exclaimed. She looked around, and then looked at Alex, who was clutching her shoulder in pain. “Morgan - are you alright?”

“I’ll be okay”, Alex said through gritted teeth. She grabbed onto Megan’s hand with the arm attached to her good shoulder and pulled herself up. She looked around for a moment, and then looked at Megan. “Oh my God…Tobin!” Alex gasped.

Megan stared at Alex for a moment and then said, “Morgan…I’m sure she got out in time…”

“We gotta go find her!” Alex said, fighting through pain, but wanting to find Tobin.

“No!” Megan yelled. “We need to get you outta here and get you to a hospital.”

“We gotta go find her, Pinoe”, Alex said, starting to walk.

“Morgan, no. Look – let’s get you outta her, and then I will go look for Tobin.”

“No…” Alex said, drifting off. She took two more steps and then slumped against Megan. “Nutmeg…” she said, as her eyes closed.

“Shit!” Megan said, as Alex starting slipping into unconsciousness.

   
********  
 

Ali took the south stairwell down from the skybox level. She hit the second level and scanned the crowd. People were scurrying about, every which way. She grabbed her radio. “Pinoe!”

“Copy”, came Megan’s voice.

“Where are you? What happened? How’s Alex?”

“We’re on the second level, heading down the southeast stairs to the mezzanine level, making our way out to the front. We caught up with Rory and his men. Alex took out one of the men, but the other one shot her in the shoulder. I took him out, though.”

“What about Rory?” Ali asked.

“He got away”, Megan answered.

“Damn”, Ali cursed.

“Alex is starting to slip into unconsciousness”, Megan said. “She’s losing blood. I’m gonna get her out, put her in an ambulance and then come back. Have you heard from Tobin?”

“No”, Ali said. “I’m gonna try to find her right now.

“I’ll join you after I put Alex in an ambulance”, Megan said.

“Copy that. Hit me on the radio when you come back in.”

“Copy that”, Megan said and signed off.

Ali stood at the top of the second level. She scanned the field, looking for Tobin. The bomb had blown a crater into the field, and there were scorch marks on the grass, ebbing in severity until almost all the way to the edge of the field. Ali scanned the field and the seats, which were mostly empty now, and cursed when she didn’t see Tobin. She set off to look for her, taking another flight of stairs down to the mezzanine level. She walked along the walkway circling the level, scanning the seats, field and crowd. Nothing. Then she headed down to the first level. She continued to look but didn’t see Tobin. As she looked her thoughts turned to Rory. He’s still out there. Maybe he’s still here. Then she thought: Chen is dead. Carli got what she wanted out of that. But Rory…what did Rory want? The bomb didn’t work. Rory didn’t get to make his statement for The Cause by blowing up thousands of Americans and English fans. But, what else did Rory want? She thought about that, and as she did her blood ran cold: Rory wanted Ashlyn, and maybe Ali, dead. Ali continued to scan the crowd, the field and the seats, but as she did, one thought kept ringing in her mind: I can’t just leave Ashlyn.  
 

********

 

Holy shit, Hope thought, the shock of the blast rippling through the air. Then she thought: Tobin…

“Jesus Christ!” Carli yelled as she tried to keep her balance. Brian stumbled as well. So did Hope and Christen. Julie was momentarily thrown off balance, but she regained her composure the quickest, and, calculating chances of success in split seconds, as Brian and Carli tried to regain their composure, she rushed towards Carli. She kicked the hand that Carli was holding the gun with, and the gun flew out of her hand. Then Julie turned to Brian. He was leveling his Mack 10 at her, but Julie caught him before he could and crashed her hands down on the top of the gun and against Brian’s trigger hand. A few stray bullets let loose as the gun clattered to the ground.

Hope, composure back, looked at Christen and yelled “Find Tobin! Find Alex. GO!!!” Christen stared at Hope for a moment and then took off, and as she did, Hope turned around and lunged at Carli.  
 

********  
   
Wu approached Ashlyn, and when she got about six feet away she attached with a jumping front kick. Ashlyn parried the strike and struck Wu with a left hand to Wu’s face. She followed up with a right forearm, but Wu blocked it and sent a knee into Ashlyn’s groin. Ashlyn grunted, and Wu tried a double hand strike to Ashlyn’s neck, but Ashlyn recovered, blocked the blow, and hit Wu with a heel kick to her knee. Wu yelped and stumbled back but did not fall, and then she unleashed a barrage of strikes on Ashlyn.

Back and forth they traded blows and blocks. Wu was smaller but faster, Ashlyn was bigger and stronger. Ashlyn closed the distance, trying to get Wu on the ground to neutralize her speed. She moved inside and threw an uppercut elbow to Wu’s jaw. Wu partially dodged the blow, but Ashlyn caught Wu on the left cheek. She thought she heard Wu’s cheekbone break, and she reached out to grab Wu for a throw, but Wu reversed the grab, and spun Ashlyn around and delivered a sharp knee to Ashlyn’s spine. Ashlyn felt her back seize up, and in that moment, Wu jumped on Ashlyn’s back and put her in a chokehold. Ashlyn grabbed at Wu’s arm around her neck, trying to lessen Wu’s hold, but she could feel her air going thin. Blackness started to creep in around her periphery, and little stars twinkled in the corners of her eyes. Ashlyn spun around with Wu still on her back like a spider monkey, and as she was turning, she saw a fire extinguisher on the wall. It was housed in a metal case, with a glass front that said “Break glass in case of emergency.” The blackness was creeping in closer, and more stars were twinkling. Ashlyn turned her and Wu around so Wu’s back was to the fire extinguisher, and with all the force she could muster, she rammed herself and Wu backwards, slamming Wu’s back into the fire extinguisher case. Glass shattered, and Wu lessened her grip, but was still hanging onto Ashlyn’s back. Ashlyn grabbed Wu’s arm that was around her neck, turned around so she was facing the fire extinguisher, and with a mighty effort threw Wu over her back. Wu went upside down and crashed into the fire extinguisher. She landed on her back, on the concrete of the walkway, and let out a cry of pain. Ashlyn came at her, and Wu tried a sweeping kick to take Ashlyn’s legs out from under her, but she was too weak to execute, and Ashlyn blocked it with her foot and then stomped on Wu’s kneecap. She heard the bones breaking and Wu wailed in pain. Then Ashlyn grabbed Wu and hauled her to her feet. Wu tried one last attempt to claw Ashlyn’s eyes, but Ashlyn grabbed Wu’s arms, spun her around, and grabbed her head and rammed her face-first into the fire extinguisher. Wu fell backwards, onto her back, spent. Ashlyn stood over her, and as Wu tried one last time to get up, Ashlyn grabbed the metal box that housed the fire extinguisher, ripped it off the wall, and slammed it down onto Wu’s head. Wu’s legs twitched for a moment and then she laid still, and Ashlyn exhaled an extremely deep breath.


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And more simultaneous action...

There was a dull throbbing in her head, and a ringing in her ears, and then Tobin’s eyes fluttered open, and she found herself staring into the sky. She tried to move her hands, feet, arms and legs. Nothing seemed broken, but her body hurt all over. She laid still, trying to figure out where she was, and as she closed her eyes, it started to come back. The bomb. She had stalled the bomb, with Jarvis. She thinks they may have gotten everyone out, but then there was a man, on his phone, not running like everyone else was, and then…

Tobin started to lose her train of thought as she drifted back out. She tried to open her eyes once more, and she tried to feel around herself. Somehow she thought she might be lying down under some seats in the stadium, but she couldn’t be sure. Her ears were still ringing, but it sounded like maybe someone was calling her name from far away, or like maybe she was inside a bottle. She tried to open her eyes again, and they fluttered open for just a moment. Unfortunately she couldn’t keep them open, but as they were starting to close again, she thought she saw two figures bending over her, one with a mop of short-ish blonde hair, and another with longer brown hair and full lips.

   
********  
 

As Brian’s gun went clattering to the ground, Julie unleashed a barrage of quick strikes. Brian blocked a couple, but some hit home, the last one being a forearm smash to Brian’s face that broke his nose. Brian went to punch Julie in the face, but Julie dodged it, lowered her level, and shot in to take Brian to the ground. Brian grabbed Julie’s ponytail and yanked it back hard, forcing Julie’s face up. He raised his hand to crash a blow down onto her face, but Julie turned her head and bit Brian’s arm, the one that was holding her hair. He screamed, and as he let go of Julie’s hair, Julie grabbed his arm and flipped him head-over-heels onto the ground and onto his back. Brian struggled to get to his feet, but Julie already had him in a side arm bar, and as he struggled against the hold, Julie tightened the grip on his wrist, extended her hips, and broke Brian’s arm right at the elbow. Brian screamed, and then Julie grabbed him by his broken arm and rolled him over to his stomach. She pinned his broken arm behind his back, grabbed his other arm, and then slapped on the cuffs.

Hope tackled Carli, and they went rolling on the ground. Hope ended up on top. She reigned three solid punches down onto Carli’s face, and then went for a chokehold, but Carli grabbed Hope’s arms and tilted her over, ending up on top. She tried to punch Hope, but Hope had her in the guard, so Carli couldn’t get the leverage for an effective blow. Then Hope saw Carli’s hand’s slip to her side, and out came a dangerous-looking SpyderEdge knife. Carli went to stab Hope in the neck, but Hope caught her wrist. Carli put her other hand on the knife to try to force the blade down into Hope’s face, but Hope used her other hand to stonewall the pressure. The two women stayed like that for a moment, locked in combat, and then Hope bridged up on her neck, rotated her body and threw Carli off of her. Carli landed three feet away, knife still in her hand.

“C’mon, Solo”, Carli hissed as she stood up. “I’m gonna slice me up some bacon.” She lunged at Hope, who was back on her feet. Hope partially dodged the blow as she was backing away towards a concession stand, but the knife found her hand and opened up a two-inch cut on her palm. Hope felt the sting and winced. Carli lunged again, just as Hope had reached the concession stand. Hope grabbed Carli’s hand, the one with the knife. Carli, as she had done when they had been fighting on the ground, put her other hand on the knife in an effort to increase the pressure, trying to drive the knife into Hope’s face. The knife came closer, but Hope was stronger, and with one hand she was able to hold Carli off for a moment, while with the other hand she reached for a metal napkin dispenser. She crashed it against the side of Carli’s head. Carli screamed and dropped the knife, and Hope attacked with a kick to Carli’s stomach. The kick landed, and Carli grunted and doubled over. Hope threw an uppercut to Carli’s jaw the left her staggering, and then Hope threw a left-right-left combination that put Carli on the ground. Hope pounced on Carli, who tried a last-ditched attempt at a choke, but Hope threw down a punishing elbow smash right to Carli’s nose. Carli paused, stunned, and Hope grabbed Carli’s arms and turned her over so she was face down. Carli struggled to get up, but Hope grabbed her head and smashed it against the ground. Blood splashed everywhere, and Carli swore as the fight went out of her. Hope went to smash Carli’s head again, but as she came up for another go, she felt the fight leave Carli’s body, and as amped up and angry as she was, the professional in her took over, and she let go of Carli’s head. Carli slumped to the ground, still conscious, but barely. Hope grabbed Carli’s arms and slapped on the cuffs. Then she leaned into Carli’s ear and said, “So, you wanna play games, huh Carli? Well, let's play a guessing game: How do you think you’re gonna die - lethal injection or electric chair?” Then Hope hauled Carli to her feet. She looked over at Julie, who was hauling Brian to his feet as well, and then Hope said, “Carli Lloyd Rose – your ass is under arrest.”

   
********  
 

“Bravo, bravo, bravo!” Rory shouted as he came out from behind a pillar. He had found Ashlyn a few minutes ago and had just watched her fight with Wu.

“Rory fucking Jameson”, Ashlyn growled through gritted teeth.

“The infamous Ashlyn Harris”, Rory said as he took out his gun and raised it at Ashlyn.

Ashlyn stared at Rory. He had her at a serious disadvantage and obviously intended to fulfill his goal of killing her. Hopefully someone would come to help, but in the meantime maybe she could keep Rory talking, and in doing so, get close enough to disarm him. She knew that if she could get the gun away from him, he would be no match for her. “You know what, Rory? Why don’t you drop the fucking gun. You want me so bad? Fight me like a man. Let’s see what you got.”

“Oh no, I don’t think so”, Rory said with a chuckle. “I just saw what you did to Miss Chop Suey. No way I’ll be making that mistake.”

They circled each other in silence for a moment, and then Ashlyn asked, “How’d you know?”

“Know what?”

“How’d you know it was my unit that killed your brother?”

Rory stared at Ashlyn for a moment and then laughed. “You Americans. You think your country is all virtue. That you can do no wrong. Well, let me tell you – not everyone in your country thinks you are right. In fact, not even everyone in your own government supports you.”

“What are you talking about, Rory?”

“I knew it was your unit from someone in your own government.” Rory looked at Ashlyn. Yes – not so righteous now are ya, lass?”

Ashlyn stared back at Rory and then smiled. “Well guess how we found where your brother was?” She paused for a moment and then said. “Someone in your guys’ camp. Yeah, that’s right. You and your sick fucking Cause, blowing people up. Well let me tell you something, Rory. Nobody believes in that shit, except for you, your dead brother, and the few fucking whackos who follow you. And not even all of them in your little crew.

“Bullshit!” Rory yelled. “None of our men would betray us.”

“Well, how do you think we got the info we did?”

Rory looked at Ashlyn for a moment. Then he smiled. “Doesn’t matter now. The only think that matters is that you’re going to die.”

“You know what? I wasn’t even the one who killed your brother”, Ashlyn said.

“Begging for mercy now, are we?” Rory said, gloating. He was so close. All he had to do was pull the trigger, and Ashlyn Harris would be dead. But he just couldn’t get himself to do it just yet. He needed to make this enjoyment last. The bomb had failed. Somehow they had figured it out. Who knew where Carli Rose was. He needed to savor this little triumph as long as possible.

“No”, Ashlyn said. “But you know what? Even though I didn’t kill your brother, I’m glad I helped bring him down. He’s an asshole”, Ashlyn said, looking straight at Rory. “Just like you.”

“And your wife is a bitch. Just like you”, Rory said in return. “And as soon as I’m done killing you, I’m going to kill her too.” He smiled wickedly and then said, “And then I’m going to kill your unborn baby.” He spread his arms to the sky and shouted, “I’m going to wipe out the entire Krieger-Harris famil-“

BANG

Rory stood there, motionless for a moment, mouth agape. Ashlyn looked at him, and as she did, she saw a dark red splotch spread across Rory’s chest. Then he fell forward to reveal Ali standing behind him. Her arm was still extended, and her gun was still smoking.

“Babe…” Ashlyn breathed. She started walking towards Ali.

“Ash…” Ali breathed back. She lowered her gun, walked towards Ashlyn and threw her arms around her wife’s neck. Ashlyn grabbed Ali’s waist and pulled her close, holding her tight, then released her so she could pull back and deliver a deep kiss on her lips.

“Are you okay?” Ashlyn asked.

“Yeah, I’m okay. Are you?”

“Yeah, I’m okay.” They stared at each other for another moment and then pulled each other into another embrace.

“I love you, babe”, Ashlyn said.

“I love you too, hon”, Ali said back.

They continued to hold each other tight. Ashlyn felt the fatigue start to settle in as she was getting lost in her wife’s embrace and the smell of her hair, when all of a sudden she heard a noise. She looked over to see Rory Jameson raising his gun slowly in her direction.

“Babe!” Ashlyn said as she grabbed Ali’s gun arm.

“Wha-“ Ali began, but before she could finish the word, Ashlyn grabbed Ali’s gun hand, moved her own body in front of Ali’s, and with Ali’s hand still holding the gun, Ashlyn put her own finger on the trigger and emptied the rest of the clip. Rory danced on the ground as the bullets riddled his body, and then he made a gurgling noise and laid still.

Ashlyn and Ali stood there for a moment, Ashlyn beside Ali and slightly in front of her, holding her arm, both of their hands on the gun. Then Ashlyn let go of the gun and walked over to Rory. He was still breathing but barely. She crouched over him, and then looked back at her wife. “He’s dying”, Ashlyn said.

Ali stared at her for a moment, then looked down at Rory, and then looked back at her wife. “No one fucks with the Krieger-Harris family”, she said matter-of-factly.

Ashlyn looked back at her wife, nodded, then turned her attention back to Rory. He was laying face up, blank eyes staring up at nothing. Ashlyn looked at him for a moment, and then grabbed him by his collar. “Hey, Rory”, she said.

“Fuckin’…bitch…”Rory gurgled out.

Ashlyn stared at him for one more moment, and then said, “I hate that word”, and slammed a crushing head butt down onto Rory’s skull. Rory’s head hit the ground. He let out one final gasp, and then he was gone. Ashlyn looked at him for another moment and then said, “Slainte”, and stood up over Rory’s dead body.


	21. Chapter 21

Ali and Ashlyn walked outside of the main entrance to Soldier Field. Police, ambulances, fire trucks, and the media were all over the place.

“Wow”, Ashlyn said, as she looked around.

“Seriously”, Ali said, nodding her head. Then she looked at Ashlyn and took her hands. “Is it us?” she jested, then laughed lightly. “I mean, does this happen to other families?”

Ashlyn laughed lightly back. “I don’t know”, she said, then pulled Ali in for a kiss. They stood like that, locked for a moment, and then they heard someone calling them.

“Hey, Lovebirds”, Megan said as she approached.

Ali broke the kiss and looked over. “Pinoe”, she said. She broke away from Ashlyn and embraced her FBI partner. “You alright?”

“Yeah, I’m okay. You?”

“We’re alright”, Ali said. “How’s Morgan? Where is she?”

“I sent her off in an ambulance”, Megan said. “She’ll be okay. I had to carry her down from the second level, though. She’s heavier than she looks. I think I might need a ride in an ambulance now”, she joked. “Press put Tobin in an ambulance as well.”

“Yeah, Pinoe and I found her underneath some seats in the tenth row", Christen said, trotting up. "We think she might have been thrown by the blast. She’s probably got a concussion, and maybe some bruised bones, but otherwise I think she’s okay. She’s on her way to Cook County Hospital.”

“That’s where Morgan is going, too”, Pinoe said.

“Phew”, Ali said, breathing a sigh of relief. “And you’re alright?” Ali asked Christen.

“I’m alright. You guys?” Ali, Ashlyn and Pinoe nodded.

“Where’s everyone else?” Ali asked.

“Krieger!” a voice called out. Ali looked over and saw Wambach striding over to her.

“Oh, shit”, Ali groaned. She smiled at Wambach and said, “Hi boss! How’s it going?”

“What the hell happened here?” Wambach said as she strode up. She looked at Ali, then at Christen, and then at Megan.

“Uh, well, there was a report of possible criminal activity at the game-“ Megan began, but Ali cut her off.

“We stopped a bomb from going off and…uh…wrangled in some criminals.”

Wambach stared at Ali for a moment, and then looked at Ashlyn. “And what the hell are you doing here?”

Ashlyn looked at Ali, and then looked back at Wambach. “I…uh…I was just here watching the game…eating Cracker Jacks…”

Wambach glared at Ashlyn and then said to Ali, “Where’s Solo and the rest of her crew? And where’s your partner?” she glared at Pinoe.

“Uh, Alex was injured”, Megan said. “We sent her off in an ambulance.

"Tobin was injured too", Ali said. "We sent her off in an ambulance as well. We’re not sure where Hope and JJ are-“

“Right here”, Hope said, as she walked up with Carli in cuffs. Blood covered Carli’s face. Julie followed right behind, with Brian in tow. He didn’t look any better, and he was still moaning over his broken arm. The media, who had been milling around, noticed them and hustled over, eager to get some sound bites and a shot of cops hauling out villains.

“Jesus Christ”, Wambach said, looking at Hope. Then she looked at Carli. “Were you behind this whole fucking mess?” Carli coughed a defeated cough, too beat to speak. The media reached them and started peppering them with questions.

“Director Wambach! What happened here tonight?”

“Detective Solo! Are these the two responsible?”

“Special Agent Krieger! Are more arrests being made?”

Wambach looked at the media, then waved to some uniformed police officers nearby and yelled, “Get all of these people out of here!” The officers dispersed the media, and then Wambach looked at Carli, then at Julie and Brian, and then at Hope. “Get these two scumbags out of here, too”, she said to Hope. Hope looked around the crew, who were smiling at mission accomplished. They had saved thousands of lives, and the heads of the three largest criminal organizations in the city were either dead or headed for prison. Hope smiled back at the crew, then looked at Wambach, tipped her a wink, and then motioned with her head to Julie, and they took Carli and Brian away to waiting squad cars. Wambach watched them walk away for a moment and then turned back to Ali. “Where’s Chen? And where’s Rory?”

“Chen’s dead”, Ali said. “Rory and Carli shot him up.”

“And where’s Rory?” Wambach asked again.

“Uh, Rory, uh…” Ali trailed off.

“He’s dead”, Ashlyn spoke up.

Wambach glared again at Ashlyn, and then looked at Ali. “Jesus Christ, Krieger. This morning, you were in a hospital bed eating apple sauce, and now…”

“Yeah boss, I know. Things kind of developed quickly today, I guess”, Ali said. There was also the whole mess at Kelly’s pub, and the mysterious assassin to explain. All of a sudden Ali felt tired, and all she wanted to do was to go home and collapse onto bed and snuggle into her wife.

Wambach looked at the crew and then said, “What about civilian casualties?”

“We’re not sure”, Megan said, “but we think we got everyone out of the way of the blast. And we don’t think any civilians got hit by bullets.”

Wambach stared at Megan and then exhaled. Then she looked at Ali. “I want your report first thing tomorrow morning.”

“Okey dokey, boss”, Ali said. She looked at her watch. Quarter after 8pm. It was going to be a long night.

Wambach looked at Ali for another moment and then looked at the whole crew. “Well, I guess it’s ‘good work’ to all of you”, she said. Then she looked at Ashlyn. “Except for you. You’d better not have been doing _any_ work on this”, she said. Ashlyn looked back at Wambach and shrugged her shoulders. Wambach stared at Ashlyn for another moment, and then smiled faintly and walked away.  
 

********

   
Tobin opened her eyes. It took her a moment to get her bearings. She was in a hospital bed. It was dark. She stared up at the ceiling for a moment, letting her eyes adjust to the darkness. Then she sat up slightly. Her body hurt a bit and her head was still ringing slightly, but other than that she felt alright. Then she looked around the room.

She was in a small hospital room with two beds. In the other bed Tobin could make out the shape of Alex Morgan. She was lying on her back, right shoulder bandaged. She was asleep. May have just come out of surgery. “Alex…” Tobin breathed out, staring at her and wondering what had happened. After the bomb had gone off, Tobin had lost track of everyone else. She stared at Alex for a few more minutes and then laid back down and closed her eyes.


	22. Chapter 22

Epilogue

“Hey! I’m getting another round”, Megan shouted, then headed for the bar. Two weeks had passed since the day of the game, and the crew was out for a night on the town.

“Thanks, Pinoe”, Ali said. She smiled as Pinoe walked away, then nuzzled into Ashlyn, who was sitting next to her in a booth.

 

“How are you feeling, babe?” Ashlyn asked.

“I’m okay. It feels nice to be out, but I’m getting a little tired”, Ali said, as she rubbed her belly.

“Well, we can leave anytime you want”, Ashlyn said supportively.

“Thank hon”, Ali said. Then she looked up. “I mean, I want to stay out, but…these kids…I swear, they’re running me into the ground”, Ali said and then laughed. She looked up at the pool table. Julie was giving Christen a rather close hands-on lesson on how to sink the 8-ball. Tobin and Alex was sitting at the bar, talking close.

Ashlyn laughed. “What about Pinoe? She’s not that young. And Hope”, she said, teasing her wife.

Ali looked over at Megan, who was waiting at the bar, eyeing the singer of the band that was playing while she waited for service. Hope was standing off to the side, sipping a beer, watching Julie and Christen.

“Pinoe is ageless”, Ali said. “And Hope is…well…Hope is just Hope.” Then she looked at her wife and scowled. “Hey, you try carrying one of these around, and we’ll we how well you do”, she said, rubbing her stomach, then screwed up her face and turned her head away in mock annoyance as Ashlyn went in for a kiss.

 

********

 

“No, no – like this”, Julie said. She placed her hand on Christen’s back and bent her over the table, then placed her right hand on Christen’s elbow. “Just rock it back and forth, like a pendulum”, she said, as Christen steadied her pool cue, preparing to hit the 8-ball. Julie’s other hand went to Christen’s left hip, and Christen’s skin tingled as she felt Julie’s breath across her ear. “Ready?”

“Okay, here we go…” Christen said. She counted to three and then struck the cue ball. It ricocheted into the 8-ball, and the 8-ball bounced off the bunker, close to the side pocket. “Dammit”, Christen said.

“Don’t get frustrated”, Julie said consolingly. “Try again.”

Christen turned to look at her. Julie smiled, and Christen smiled back. “Well, I guess you’ll have to help me out again”, Christen said flirtatiously. Julie grabbed the cue ball and then said, “Alright, Press – get back in position.” Christen, smiled and started to bend over, then stopped and stood back up. She leaned into Julie and said, “Thanks for teaching me how to shoot.”

Julie looked back at her. “You’re welcome”, she said, then moved in a bit closer. “You saved my life. You’re the one who’s really the good shot.”

   
********  
 

“How’s your shoulder?” Tobin asked.

“It’s okay. It hurts, but I’ll live”, Alex said, then smiled. “How’s your head?”

“Better”, Tobin answered. “It doesn’t really hurt anymore, and the ringing’s gone. The rest of my body feels better too.”

“That’s good”, Alex said. “Do you remember what happened?”

“Not exactly. I know we managed to delay the detonation and reduce the blast, and I think I remember yelling at people to get off the field, but I can’t remember exactly what happened after that. Anyway, I think I flew through the air when the bomb went off. Luckily I wasn’t close enough to get fried, but apparently I was close enough to get tossed.”

“Well, I’m glad you’re okay”, Alex said. Then she leaned in. “I think what you did was the bravest thing out of all of us”, she said, with a smile.

Tobin smiled back, getting lost in Alex’s perfume. “It was a team effort. We all were brave that day”, she said, then pointed to Alex’s shoulder, still in a sling.

“But you were the bravest”, Alex said back coyly.

Tobin stared at her for a moment, and then an idea formed in her mind. “I guess I was”, she said confidently. Then she smiled wide. “Can I get a ‘thank you’ dance?” she asked.

Alex stared back at her and then smiled back. “Well, my shoulder needs to heal before I can give you my best effort”, she said, and winked at Tobin.

“I can wait”, Tobin said and winked back.  
 

********  
 

“Hey, get over here!” Megan yelled to everyone. The group gathered around the pool table, and Megan handed out drinks. When she was done, she said, “To Krieger, for coordinating the fight against organized crime, and for taking the lead on the craziest job I’ve ever been a part of.”

“To Hope and JJ, for kicking Carli’s ass!” Ali said, and the group laughed.

“To Press, for saving our asses”, Julie said. She looked at Hope and then smiled at Christen.

“Ours too”, Ali said, looking at Ashlyn, and Ashlyn nodded.

“To Tobin, for saving everyone’s ass from that bomb”, Christen said. “You’re one crazy muthafucker, Nutmeg”, she said, laughing and shaking her head at Tobin.

Tobin gave Christen a fist bump and then said, “To Alex – for taking one in the field”. She looked at Alex and smiled. “Here’s to a speedy recovery.”

Alex smiled at Tobin. “You took one in the field, too. Nutmeg.” Tobin smiled back at Alex, and Alex mouthed “thank you’ to Tobin. Then she turned to Megan and said, “To Pinoe – for taking care of me when I got shot. The best partner anyone could ask for.” There was a collective “Awwwwww…” and then everyone was silent.

“Hey guys, what about me?” Ashlyn asked, a mocking dejected look on her face.

“To Sergeant Ashlyn Harris”, Hope began, “…for…officially…not being involved in any of this…” Hope paused for a moment and then said, “And for unofficially rounding the bad guy body count up to an even hundred!” Normally the team didn’t joke about that kind of stuff, but given what they had all just gone through, they tried to make light of it for levity’s sake. Especially Hope, who was taking the close call that she and Julie had had with Carli very seriously. The group laughed.

“Hey – to all of you guys”, Ashlyn said. “Thank you. For making this world a safer place for me and my family.” Everyone smiled at the heartfelt thought. Then Ashlyn looked at her wife, and then at Ali’s stomach. “And to our child – may you grow up in a world that’s safe, happy and healthy.” The group grew silent at the sincere thoughts, and then Ashlyn said, “Alright – let’s drink!” and the crew clinked glasses. Then Ashlyn turned to Ali. "Except for you, babe", she said. She rubbed Ali's stomach, and Ali scowled playfully.  
 

********  
 

Hope was standing against a wall near the pool table. Julie and Christen were back to playing pool. Tobin and Alex were canoodling in a booth nearby, with Alex and Ashlyn sitting across from them. The band had just finished playing, and Megan was chatting up the singer, Sera something-or-other. Top 40 music was playing over the bar speakers.

“How come you’re not having a good time?” the voice came. Hope looked over. A cute brunett-ish redhead with a smattering of freckles across her face had come up on Hope’s left and was now standing about a foot away. She was about four inches shorter than Hope and looked to be in her mid-twenties. She was wearing a white dress with green and purple floral patterns and black open toe heels. She was cradling an almost-empty drink in both hands and smiling at Hope, a child-like glimmer in her eye.

“Huh?” Hope said, caught off guard by the question and the fact that someone was speaking to her out of nowhere.

“I said, how come you’re not having a good time?” the woman asked again.

‘What, are you watching me?” Hope said, and narrowed her eyes. She was naturally wary of people. Probably part of the personality of being a detective.

“Actually, I was”, the woman said and smiled. “I saw you from across the room. I was standing over there with my friends”, she said, pointing to across the bar where a group of twenty-something year-olds were standing. “All of your friends are having a good time”, she said, motioning to the rest of the people with Hope, “but you’re not. Why is that?”

“I am having a good time. This is my happy face”, Hope said without smiling.

“Oh”, the woman said. She bobbed her head in a carefree fashion for a moment and then said, “How come you’re not playing pool?”

“I suck at pool”, Hope said.

“Oh”, the woman said again. “Well that’s good.”

Hope turned to face her. “Why is that good?”

“Because then you’re free to ask me to dance”, the woman said and beamed at Hope.

“I suck at dancing too”, Hope said.

“Oh”, the woman said. Her voice dropped for a moment, but she came back. “So, what don’t you suck at?”

Hope looked the woman in the eyes. “Putting bad people behind bars.”

The woman stared at Hope for a moment and then giggled. “I know. I saw you on TV.”

Hope looked at her for a moment and then said, “Oh yeah, that”, she said, as she thought about the media that had swarmed around her when she had hauled Carli out of the stadium.

“Your suspect looked pretty beat up”, the woman said.

Hope looked the woman in the eye, trying to figure out what her game was. Reporter, maybe? Or investigative journalist. “Look, sometimes when you apprehend a suspect-“ she started to explain, but the woman cut her off.

“Was she the bad guy?”

Hope stared at her for a moment and then went, “Yes, she was the bad guy.”

“Well then, I guess she deserved it”, the woman said. Then she stepped a bit closer to Hope. “I thought it was kind of hot”, she said. “The way you looked in your brown leather jacket, bringing her out, all handcuffed and stuff.” Hope stared at her for a moment, and then the woman touched Hope’s arm. Then she looked at Hope’s hand, which had a bandage around it. “What happened to your hand?”

“The suspect injured it, as I was trying to put her behind bars.” Hope said flatly.

The woman regarded Hope for a moment. “Well, I hope it’s okay”, she said. Then she smiled coyly. “Speaking of bars, why don’t we go to the bar and get another drink?” she asked, raising her empty glass up.

So, Hope thought, this woman is the kind of woman who gets turned on by cops. She looked at the woman. She really was attractive, but Hope wasn’t looking for anything right now. She had come to the bar tonight just looking to have a drink or two with the team. The current happenings had put her in a contemplative mood, and she wasn’t in the mood for a hookup, or setting up a date, or really anything for that matter. Her run-in with Carli had been a very close call for her and Julie, the closest she, as well as Julie, had ever come to actually dying. Unlike Julie, Christen, and Tobin, though, Hope alone carried the burden of feeling responsible for the safety of the people that worked on her Strike Team, under her command. Hence, the seriousness of her work often consumed her more than the women who worked under her, and as attractive as the woman standing before her was, tonight she just couldn’t shake the contemplative mood she was in. Even though two weeks had passed, the heaviness of just how close she and Julie had come to dying was still weighing on her.

“I’m okay, but thanks”, Hope said. Then she offered the woman a slight smile.

The woman stared at her for a moment. Her smile dropped a bit, having been stonewalled by Hope a few times now, but then she smiled back. “Okay, well, I’m going to go over to the bar. I would love for you to join me”, the woman said with another smile.

“Okay”, Hope said.

“I’m Kelley, by the way”, the woman said, and offered her hand.

“Hope”, Hope said, taking Kelley’s hand.

“Well, Hope, I hope you join me at the bar for a drink”, she said. “I’m sorry, that was terrible”, Kelley said, and then laughed at herself.

“What’s going on here?” Ali said as she walked up. Ashlyn was right behind her.

“Hi, I’m Kelley”, Kelley introduced herself to Ali and Ashlyn. “I’m trying to get your friend to smile and have a drink with me at the bar.” Then she looked at Hope. “In fact, I’ll even buy the first round if you smile.”

“Hope?” Ali looked at Hope and raised her eyebrows.

Hope looked at Ali, Ashlyn standing right behind her, and then turned to Kelley. Hope was usually all business, and she didn’t naturally smile a lot. She hadn’t been looking or expecting to meet anyone tonight, but the woman with the cute freckles, engaging smile and upbeat personality was winning her over. She stared at Kelley for another moment and then smiled slightly. “Okay, I’m in.”

“Yesssssss!” Kelley squealed and put one fist in the air.

“There you go, Hope”, Ali said with a smile. “See, you don’t always have to take life so seriously. You can have some fun once in a while.”

“Yeah, and you don’t always have to play the badass”, Ashlyn chimed in, teasingly.

Hope looked at Ali and then at Ashlyn. “Look who’s talking?” she said, addressing Ashlyn.

Ashlyn leaned in to Ali and gave her a big kiss, and then said, “I love you, babe.” Then she turned to Hope. “There, now, is that something a badass would do?” Ali laughed and Hope rolled her eyes.

“Come on, Hope”, Ali said, smiling and giving Hope a gentle nod with her head. “Enjoy the night. We’ve gotten rid of all the bad guys for once. At least for now.” Hope glared playfully at Ali and Ashlyn for a moment, and then looked back at Kelley. Kelley beamed at Hope yet again, then reached out, took Hope’s hand and led her to the bar. Ashlyn and Ali watched them as they strolled off.

“Hope is always so serious”, Ali said.

“MmmmHmmm…” Ashlyn said patronizingly, drawing it out mockingly, as she put her arms around Ali’s waist.

“Whaaaaaat!?” Ali looked back at Ashlyn. “I’m not that serious, at least not all the time”, she said.

Ashlyn snorted. “Little Miss By-The-Book”, she teased, nuzzling into Ali’s neck.

“Whatever”, Ali said. She feigned annoyance for a moment and then smiled. “Who let you tag along this time?”

“Ohhhh”, Ashlyn scoffed. “’Tag along’, is it?” she repeated with mock offense. Ali rolled her eyes, and then Ashlyn gave her wife a squeeze. “How are you feeling, babe?” she asked her wife.

“Getting tired”, Ali said. “But you can stay out if you want”, she told her wife.

“No”, Ashlyn said resolutely with a smile. “No way. I’m going home with my baby.” Then she rubbed her hand across Ali’s stomach. “Both my babies.” Ali smiled, leaned back, and kissed Ashlyn, then nuzzled into her neck.

“Let’s get you home, princess”, Ashlyn said, and then she took Ali by the hand and led her out of the bar.


End file.
